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LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


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This  book  must  not 
be  taken  from  the 
Library  building. 


Form  No.  471 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://archive.org/details/resourcesofnorthOObann 


THE 


RESOURCES  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA: 


ITS  NATURAL  WEALTH,  CONDITION,  AND  ADVANTAGES, 
AS  EXISTING  IN  1869. 


PRESENTED  TO  THE  CAPITALISTS  AND  PEOPLE  OF  THE  CENTRAL 
AND  NORTHERN  STATES. 


BY 

BANNISTER,  COWAN  &  COMPANY, 
Meal  Estate  and  Financial  Agents, 

NEW  YOEK  AND  WLLMINGTON, 

48  Broad  Street,  New  York;  Front  Street,  Wilmington. 


WILMINGTON,   N.  C 

1869. 


PROSPECTUS 


BANNISTER,  COWAN  &  COMPANY. 
Real  Estate  and  Financial  Agents. 

Established  for  the  purpose  of  negotiating  the  sale  of  Southern  lands  of  all 

descriptions,  and  other  property;  also  to  induce  Immigration,  organize 

joint  stock  companies,  negotiate  loans,  etc.  etc. 

Principal  Offices  located  at  Wilmington,  N.  C,  and  48  Broad 
Street,  New  York.  Branch  offices  will  be  established  in  other 
cities  of  the  North  and  South. 

TO  THE  PUBLIC. 

We  would  respectfully  state  to  capitalists  and  others  desiring' 
profitable  investments  in  real  estate,  mining,  or  manufacturing 
interests,  timber  lands,  water  power,  etc.,  that  we  are  prepared 
to  offer  them  greater  inducements  than  can  elsewhere  be  found. 

The  principal  fact  which  led  to  the  establishment  of  this 
agency  was  the  existence  in  the  South  of  so  many  very  important, 
and,  in  most  cases,  wholly  undeveloped  resources,  which  for 
their  proper  development  require  capital,  and  which,  by  such 
development,  would  undoubtedly  result  in  great  prosperity  and 
wealth.  The  capital,  in  abundance,  is  in  the  North,  seeking 
opportunities  of  profitable  investment,  while  the  opportunities,  in 
like  abundance,  are  in  the  South,  awaiting  the  capital.  What  is 
now  needed  is  a  means  of  bringing  them  together.  This  our 
Agency  proposes  to  furnish. 

We  are  also  prepared  to  negotiate  loans  upon  the  best  of  securi- 
ties, and  at  liberal  rates  of  interest.  There  are  numerous  indus- 
tries in  the  South  which  are  crippled,  to  a  great  extent,  for  the 
want  of  a  little  more  capital.  Loans  can  readily  be  negotiated 
upon  abundant  security,  bearing  interest  at  from  ten  to  fifteen 


IV 


PKOSPECTUS. 


per  cent,  per  annum.  We  invite  attention  to  this  branch  of  our 
business. 

It  is  our  intention  to  publish,  at  an  early  day,  a  catalogue  of 
lands  and  other  properties  placed  in  our  hands  for  sale;  and  also 
to  solicit  from  all  who  desire  to  see  a  complete  schedule  of  such 
properties,  permission  to  place  them  in  our  lists,  in  order  to 
exhibit,  as  completely  as  possible,  a  classified  statement  of  mill 
sites  and  mill  properties,  iron  mines,  gold  mines,  timber  tracts, 
and  other  conspicuous  properties,  to  which  the  attention  of 
capitalists  is  invited. 

This  catalogue  will  be  frequently  corrected  and  extended, 
making  a  new  issue  at  intervals  of  not  more  than  two  months, 
and  it  will  therefore  be  a  reliable  guide  to  the  development  of 
all  the  properties  to  which  it  will  refer. 

For  copies  of  these  Catalogues,  please  address,  at  Wilmington 
or  New  York, 

BANNISTER,  COWAN  &  00. 


REFERENCES. 
Hon.  Horatio  Seymour, 
George  Davis, 
Wm.  A.  Graham, 
Thomas  Bragg, 
Z.  B.  Vance, 
W.  N.  H.  Smith, 
Asa  Biggs, 
H.  T.  Clarke, 
R.  P.  Ranney, 
H.  C.  Calkins,  M.  Cm 
F.  E.  Shober,  M.  C, 

C.  B.  Brooks,  Judge  U.  S.  Dist.  Court, 

D.  W.  Bagley, 
Col.  R.  H.  Cowan,  Pres't  W.,  C.  &  R.  R.  R.  Co.,  Wilmington 
Hon.  R.  R.  Bridgers,  Pres't  W.  &  W.  R.  R.  Co.,  Wilmington 

"     Jesse  R.  STtrBBS,Pres't  Wil.  &  Tar.  R.R.  Co.,  Williamston 

D.  P.  Eells,  Esq.,  Pres't  Com.  Nat.  Bank, 

E.  E.  Burrtjss,  Esq.,  Pres't  1st  National  Bank, 
J.  Drexel,  Esq.  (of  Drexel  and  Co.,  Bankers), 
James  Dawson,  Esq.,  Banker, 
S.  N.  Kenyon,  Esq.,  Cashier  Citizens'  Nat.  Bank,  Fulton,  N.  Y. 

Maj.  Joseph  A.  Englehard,  Editor  Wilmington  Journal. 


Utica,  N.  Y. 

Wilmington,  N.  C. 

Hillsboro  " 

Raleigh  " 

Charlotte  ' ' 

Murfreesboro,  N.  C. 

Tarborough,  N.  C. 
ic  it 

Cleveland,  Ohio. 
New  York. 
Salisbury,  N.  C. 
N.  C.     • 
Williamston,  N.  C. 


Cleveland,  Ohio. 
Wilmington,  N.  C. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Wilmington,  N.  C. 


PROSPECTUS. 

Capt.  John  S.  Dancy,  Ed.  Reconstructed  Farmer,  Tarborough. 

Gen.  W.  W.  Harllee,  Mars  Bluff,  S.  C. 

"     CO.  Looms,  Coldwater,  Mich. 

Col.  Henry  A.  Gilliam,  Edenton,  N.  C. 

"    E.  D.  Hall,  Wilmington,  N.  C. 

"    J.  S.  Cannon,  Norfolk,  Va. 
H.  B.  Short,  Esq.,  late  Pres't  Green  Swamp  Co.,  N.  C. 

Messrs.  A.  G.  Cattell  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 

"        D.  K.  Hotjtz  &  Co.,  " 

"        Rowland  &  Ervien,  " 

"       Samuel  Bolton  &  Co.,  " 

"       Kenton,  Potter  &  Co.,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

C  B.  Hancock,  Esq.  (of  Kingsbury,  Abbott  Co.),  New  York. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 


General  advantages  arising  from  the  position  of  North 

Carolina 5  to  7 

Configuration  and  General  Surface 7  to  9 

Forests  of  North  Carolina 9  to  13 

The  soil  of  North  Carolina  generally 13  to  17 

Sandy  soils  of  the  Pine  Lands 18 

The  Middle  District ;  the  Piedmont  Lands 19  to  21 

The  mountain  and  valley  soils  of  the  western  part 21,  22 

Staple  Crops :  Cotton 22  to  24 

Rice 24 

Indian  Corn 25,  26 

The  Wheat  Crop 26 

Other  grains  :  Peas,  Potatoes,  etc 27,  28 

Fruits,  Grapes,  Wine,  and  Market  Gardening 28  to  32 

Garden  Products 32 

The  Ground  Pea,  or  Peanut 33 

Mineral  Resources  of  North  Carolina 34 

Iron  Ores  and  Iron  Works 35  to  38 

Gold  Mines 39  to  43 

Silver  Mines 44 

Copper 45,  46 

List  of  the  principal  Gold,  Silver,  and  Copper  Mines 47  to  53 

Silver  Mines 50 

Copper  Mines 50,  51 

Lead,  zinc,  etc 51 

Chromic  Iron 52 

Iron  Pyrites 52 

Graphite,  or  Plumbago , 53 

Mica 53 

Diamonds 53 

Limestone,  Marble,  Building  Stone,  etc 54  to  58 

Marble 55 

Granites  and  Building  Stone 56 

Grindstones  and  Whetstones 57 

Millstones 57 

Serpentine 58 

Roofing  and  Flagging  Slates .,,,., 58 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Soapstone 58 

Fire-Clay  ;  Porcelain  Clay 59 

Bituminous  and  Oil-bearing  Shales 59 

Native  Mineral  Fertilizers  :  Marl  and  Phosphates 59  to  62 

Mineral  Springs 62,  63 

Watering  Places  of  the  Atlantic  Coast 64 

Mountain  Scenery 65 

Linville  Falls 67 

Rivers,  Falls,  and  Water-power 68  to  73 

Number  of  Cotton  and  Woolen  Mills,  etc 72 

Power-manufacturing  in  North  Carolina 73  to  75 

Number  of  the  Principal  Mills,  etc 74 

General  Development  of  Manufactures 75  to  78 

Table  of  Manufactures,  all  classes 76 

Tobacco  Manufacture 77 

Tanneries 77 

Turpentine  Manufactures 77 

Lumber  and  Shingles 78 

Cost  of  Labor 79,  80 

Table  of  Prices  of  Farm  Labor 79 

The  Trade  of  Wilmington 80,  81 

Exports  Coastwise 80 

Exports  Foreign 81 

Kailroads  and  Internal  Communication 82  to  86 

List  of  Principal  Eailroads 83  to  84 

Freights  and  Sea  Transportation 86 

Fisheries  and  Fowl  Shooting  of  the  Coast 87  to  90 

Duck  Shooting  on  the  Sound 89 

The  Climate  of  North  Carolina 90  to  95 

Table  of  Temperatures 93 

Table  of  Average  Quantities  of  Rain 94 

Proportion  of  Improved  and  Unimproved  Land 95  to  100 

Review  of  the  Agricultural  Resources  of  the  State 100  to  103 

Availability  of  the  Coal  of  Deep  River 105  to  107 

Sentiments  of  the  People 107  to  106 

Convention  of  Railroad  Presidents,  etc 110  to  114 

The  Changed  System  of  Labor 114  to  116 

Adjacent  States 116 


RESOURCES  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


North  Carolina  is  conspicuous  among  the  States  of  the 
Atlantic  seaboard  for  advantages  of  position  calculated  to 
develop  every  feature  of  its  natural  wealth.  Whatever  it  may 
produce  through  its  fertility  of  soil,  its  abundant  growth  of 
timber,  or  its  extensive  mineral  deposits,  is  within  easy  reach 
of  the  best  markets,  and  can  be  forwarded  by  the  cheapest 
modes  of  transportation.  Facilities  for  cheap  production  are 
also  remarkably  abundant.  Machinery  can  easily  be  sent  to 
any  point;  the  properties  of  every  sort — land,  water  power, 
timber,  and  mines  —  are  all  purchasable  at  very  reason- 
able rates;  labor  is  cheaper  than  in  any  other  State  of  the 
Union,  east  or  west,  and  all  these  materials  and  appliances 
can  be  handled  by  an  owner  or  capitalist  residing  in  any  one 
of  the  States  north  of  it  without  such  risk  of  loss  or  waste  as 
is  inevitable  in  attempting  to  own,  hold,  or  work  productive 
property  in  the  new  Western  States.  These  are  most  import- 
ant facts,  to  be  put  in  the  foreground  of  any  statement  of  the 
resources  and  merits  of  North  Carolina,  in  considering  its 
new  and  important  relation  to  the  business  interests  of  the 
people  of  the  States  north  of  it. 

North  Carolina  holds  a  position  of  equal  advantage  as  re- 
gards its  climate.  It  has  that  better  phase  of  the  temperate 
climates  belonging  in  Europe  to  Italy  and  to  Spain,  giving  it 
the  capacity  to  produce  half  tropical  products,  while  it  is  still 
exempt  from  tropical  unhealthiness,  and  from  the  excess  of 
heat  or  of  moisture  belonging  to  the  Gulf  Coast  of  the  United 
States.  Cotton  is  abundantly  grown  over  nearly  half  the 
surface  of  the  State,  and  the  low  country  of  the  southeastern 
2 


6  RESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

part  is  as  rich  in  productions  of  the  warm  climates  as  any 
part  of  the  coast  south  of  it;  yet  all  parts  of  even  this  low 
country  are  conspicuously  healthy.  Stretching  westward  the 
country  rises,  first  in  rolling  lands,  of  admirable  adaptation  to 
general  tillage,  and  next  into  mountains,  inclosing  valleys  of 
great  comparative  elevation,  and  of  the  purest  air,  and  most 
perfect  adaptation  to  all  the  growths  of  Western  Pennsylvania 
and  Western  New  York.  The  climate,  in  fact,  really  merges 
the  almost  tropical  southeastern  coast,  with  the  Italian  soft- 
ness of  the  interior,  and  the  temperate  freshness  of  the  moun- 
tains and  the  west.  No  other  State  of  the  Union  has  so  great 
diversity,  nor  has  any  considerable  diversity  within  such  easy 
reach  by  ready  means  of  communication. 

In  a  more  detailed  account  given  in  another  part  of  this 
paper  we  show  what  the  precise  conditions  of  climate  are 
in  various  parts  of  the  State,  and  how  strikingly  the  positions 
outlined  here  are  sustained  by  the  recorded  facts. 

Geographically,  therefore,  North  Carolina  is  a  half-way 
house  for  the  Seaboard  States,  at  any  point  of  which  the 
business  man  and  business  enterprises  of  the  East  are  practi- 
cally at  home.  Transportation  of  cotton,  grain,  lumber,  iron, 
fruits,  and  vegetables  is  quite  as  easy  to  Baltimore,  Philadel- 
phia, and  New  York,  as  from  Cincinnati,  Cleveland,  and  Buf- 
falo. The  sailing  vessels  and  steamer  lines  of  the  Atlantic 
Coast  offer  cheap  and  prompt  transportation,  and,  aided  by  the 
interior  railroads  of  North  Carolina,  they  bring  the  whole 
section  tributary  to  Wilmington  as  near  to  New  York  as 
Central  Ohio  is.  This  fact  alone  should  concentrate  attention 
on  the  natural  wealth  of  the  State,  but  when  we  add  to  it  the 
difference  of  climate,  which  is  as  if  the  spring  were  to  open 
nearly  three  months  earlier,  and  fruits  were  to  ripen  in  Ohio 
when  they  were  blossoming  in  New  York,  we  have  a  new 
value  given  to  the  productive  lands,  which  it  is  reasonable  to 
estimate  at  twice  what  they  would  otherwise  be  worth. 

Every  product  of  the  soil  is  now  of  higher  value  and  of 
greater  interest  than  at  any  previous  time.  Yegetables  and 
fruits  are  merchandise,  to  be  produced,  shipped,  handled,  and 
sold  by  wholesale,  as  commercial  products.  The  changes  of 
a  few  years  in  this  respect  are  astonishing,  and  they  add  enor- 


RESOURCES    OF    NORTH    CAROLINA.  7 

mously  to  the  value  of  the  lands  of  the  South,  especially  of 
the  seaboard  from  Norfolk  southward.  Norfolk  has  for  a  few 
years  been  conspicuous  in  producing  early  fruits,  but  it  is 
really  too  far  north,  and  Wilmington  has  much  the  better 
position.  The  difference  between  Norfolk  and  Wilmington 
in  the  advance  of  the  seasons  is  twenty-one  days,  a  difference 
so  great  as  to  give  the  latter  overwhelming  advantages  in 
everything  that  relates  to  early  cultivation. 

We  have,  therefore,  a  district  of  almost  tropical  capacity  of 
production  within  easy  reach  of  the  daily  business  of  the  East. 
The  number  of  active  men  free  to  choose  a  profitable  opening 
to  new  business  is  very  great,  and  they  are  looking  eagerly 
for  new  fields  of  enterprise.  Her  mining  States  are  far  less 
attractive  now  than  they  were  three  or  five  years  ago  :  heavy 
losses,  distant  fields  of  labor,  and  painful  inability  to  control 
surrounding  circumstances,  and  prevent  losses,  crowd  the 
whole  history  of  investment  in  the  West.  In  the  new  east  of 
the  Southern  States  it  need  not  be  so.  A  moderate  capital  suf- 
fices to  obtain  absolute  control  of  a  large  tract  of  land,  of  fine 
water  power,  and  of  productive  mines.  Neither  in  the  origi- 
nal purchase,  nor  in  the  subsequent  management,  are  large 
sums  required.  Valuable  products  are  ready  for  market 
almost  at  the  outset,  and  the  purchaser  can  bring  cargoes  of 
shingles,  lumber,  ores,  or  fruits,  to  eager  markets,  almost  as 
soon  as  his  possession  is  secured. 

With  this  general  reference  to  the  advantages  of  North 
Carolina,  resulting  from  its  geographical  position,  its  climate, 
and  its  intrinsic  capacity  for  production,  we  proceed  to  give 
full  information  on  each  branch  of  these  interests  in  detail, 
and  we  ask  every  reader  to  follow  us,  confident  that  we  have 
embodied  facts,  not  only  of  interest  in  themselves,  but  that 
will  show  new  and  attractive  openings  for  business  enter- 
prise. 

The  General  Surface  of  North  Carolina 

Is  conspicuously  fairer  to  the  first  impression  of  a  visitor  than 
any  of  the  Seaboard  States  north  of  it,  in  consequence  of  the 
finer  growth  of  its  forests,  and  the  number  and  depth  of  its 
indenting  bays  and  navigable  rivers.     While  the  low  eastern 


8  RESOURCES    OF  NORTH    CAROLINA. 

lands  of  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Maryland,  and  Virginia  ex- 
hibit a  comparatively  short  growth  of  pine  and  other  timber, 
the  plains  of  North  Carolina  are  covered  with  fine  and  lofty 
pines,  and  the  swamps  abound  with  the  largest  growths  of 
cedar. 

Access  to  every  part  of  the  lowlands  is  also  afforded  by 
the  rivers  and  bays,  all  of  which  are  navigable  for  vessels  of 
sufficient  capacity  to  carry  lumber,  grain,  and  every  form  of 
produce  directly  and  cheaply  to  northern  markets.  By  refer- 
ence to  the  map,  these  advantages  of  water  communication 
are  very  apparent.  Leaving  Wilmington  in  either  direction, 
for  instance,  forty  or  fifty  miles  of  railway  will  touch  on  the 
head  of  some  of  the  fairest  bays  to  be  found  in  the  world, 
communicating  both  with  the  ocean  and  with  the  interior, 
and  enabling  business  establishments  handling  the  heaviest 
goods  to  attain  the  greatest  economy  in  freights  inward  and 
outward.  Waccamaw  Lake,  on  the  south  of  Wilmington, 
is  peculiarly  favored  in  this  respect,  and  the  finest  cedar, 
cypress,  and  pine  abound  in  the  forests  near  its  shores. 

As  the  rolling  lands  further  westward  are  reached,  the 
scene  is  varied  and  attractive.  There  is  little  waste  land,  and 
nothing  bare  of  valuable  products — timber,  if  unopened,  and 
valuable  crops,  if  the  land  has  been  cleared.  Less  of  waste 
surface,  and  of  the  often-prevailing  stretches  of  land  once  cul- 
tivated and  afterward  abandoned,  is  visible  in  North  Carolina 
than  in  any  other  State  south  of  Maryland. 

Still  farther  inland,  the  splendid  mountain  scenery  of  the 
Blue  Eidge  and  adjacent  ranges  rises  before  the  visitor,  offer 
ing  a  succession  of  green  hills,  with  intervening  valleys, 
which  never  fail  to  interest  the  most  superficial  observer,  and 
which  reward  the  closest  examination  with  evidences  of  uni- 
versal fertility.  The  general  aspect  of  this  upper  part  of  the 
State  is  attractive  in  the  highest  degree.  Fruit  cultivation 
and  grazing  here  attain  greater  perfection  than  in  any  other 
part  of  the  Alleghany  range.  Orchard  fruits,  particularly, 
exhibit  a  degree  of  perfection  not  exceeded  by  the  best 
in  Western  New  York  or  Pennsylvania.  Upland  valleys  of 
this  district  are  well  known  when  cited  as  belonging  to  East 
Tennessee,  but  in  North  Carolina,  bordering  the  whole  eastern 


RESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  9 

line  of  Tennessee,  the  same  conformation  exists,  and  the  same 
advantages  are  found,  with  the  addition  of  much  more  ready 
access  to  Raleigh,  Wilmington,  and  Norfolk. 

The  elevation  of  this  western  part  of  the  State  is,  in  fact, 
greater  than  that  of  East  Tennessee,  and  the  climate  is  greatly 
modified  in  consequence.  Quite  a  large  area  west  of  the 
Blue  Ridge,  from  which  the  French  Broad  and  other  rivers 
cut  their  way,  and  drain  the  western  tier  of  counties  into  the 
Tennessee  valley,  will  average  two  thousand  feet  above  the  sea, 
a  good  share  of  it  being  table-land  2500  feet  above  the  sea. 
East  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  the  fine  valleys  in  which  Danbury, 
Yadkinville,  and  Morganton  are  situated,  are  about  1500  feet 
above  the  sea,  on  an  average.  A  railroad  runs  to  Morgantown, 
and  another  to  Lincolnton,  both  connecting  with  Charlotte, 
Salisbury,  and  Greensboro.  The  valley  country  of  North 
Carolina  is,  in  fact,  if  not  quite  as  accessible  as  the  celebrated 
"Valley  of  Virginia,"  scarcely  less  fertile  or  less  attractive  in 
any  respect. 

Generally  we  claim  for  North  Carolina  that  it  is  the  richest 
and  most  attractive  in  its  appearance  among  the  States  of  the 
seaboard  south  of  New  York.  Its  water  penetration,  its 
forests  on  the  plains,  as  well  as  on  the  mountains,  and  its 
noble  mountain  ranges  with  their  intervening  valleys,  place 
it  in  the  first  rank  not  only  for  variety  of  resources,  but  also 
for  the  intrinsic  value  of  these  resources. 

The  Forests  of  North  Carolina. 

The  peculiar  value  of  the  forest  growths  of  North  Caro- 
lina entitles  them  to  consideration  before  almost  anything 
else,  because  of  the  facility  with  which  the  timber  and  lum- 
ber they  produce  may  be  made  a  source  of  profit  to  the  pur- 
chaser. Exhausted  as  the  timber  lands  of  the  Northern  States 
are,  the  demand  for  building  and  ship  timber,  for  shingles, 
flooring  lumber,  and  other  varieties,  must  for  many  years  be 
supplied  from  the  South.  North  Carolina  has  the  best,  the 
greatest  quantity,  and  the  most  readily  accessible  timber 
lands  from  which  this  supply  can  be  obtained,  and  we  pro- 
ceed to  give  such  account  of  them  as  will  enable  the  pur- 


10  RESOURCES   OP   NOETII    CAROLINA. 

chaser  of  lands  there  to  put  this  class  of  his  resources  at  once 
to  use. 

In  the  eastern  and  lower  counties  of  the  State  the  most 
valuable  trees  are  the  long-leafed  pine,  the  cypress  and  the 
cedar,  all  trees  of  magnificent  growth,  with  trunks  two  to 
five  feet  in  diameter,  and  forty  to  a  hundred  feet  to  the 
branches.  This  may  seem  an  extreme  statement,  yet  the 
facts  are  indisputable.  General  "W.  A.  Blount,  of  Beaufort 
County,  describes  his  cypress  lands,  of  many  thousand  acres, 
as  bearing  "  cypress  trees,  averaging  eight  or  ten  in  number 
per  acre,  from  two  and  a  half  to  four  and  a  half  feet  in  diame- 
ter at  the  stump,  one  hundred  feet  to  the  limbs,  straight 
bodies,  small  bulky  tops."  These  cypress  trees  generally 
grow  in  clusters,  and  they  are  found  all  over  the  swamp  lands 
of  the  eastern  counties.  Where  the  swamps  are  deepest,  and 
unreclaimable  to  agriculture,  there  are  great  quantities  of  fal- 
len cypress  timber,  easily  raised,  and  as  perfectly  sound  and 
available  for  any  form  of  lumber  or  shingles,  as  if  cut  from 
standing  trees.  All  the  swamp  lands  from  Norfolk  south- 
ward were  formerly  covered  with  cypress  and  cedar,  or  as  the 
last  is  usually  called,  juniper ;  but  the  surface  growth  of  the 
Dismal  Swamp  in  Virginia  is  now  almost  wholly  destroyed, 
and  only  that  which  was  buried  ages  since  in  the  peaty  swamp 
earth,  can  now  be  got  for  timber.  In  the  North  Carolina 
swamps,  however,  the  cedar  and  cypress  are  both  abundant 
yet  standing,  while  the  mass  of  the  peat  and  earth  of  the 
swamps  yields  incredible  quantities  of  the  finest  timber  when 
excavations  are  made. 

In  excavating  a  canal  through  the  Matamuskeet  savanna 
lands,  Mr.  Euffm  says : — 

"  Such  a  quantity  of  dead  but  sound  wood  was  found  and  removed,  and 
which  was  at  first  left  lying  alongside,  that  it  appeared  to  an  eye-witness 
impossible  to  replace  all  the  wood  in  the  canal  from  which  it  had  been 
taken."  Mr.  Ruffln  also  says  (Sketches  of  Lower  North  Carolina,  p. 
198)  :  "There  are  extensive  bodies  of  cypress  lands,  owned  by  wealthy 
companies  or  individuals,  who  deem  it  more  profitable  to  use  the  swamps 
to  produce  cypress  shingles  and  timber,  than  to  drain  and  clear  any  por- 
tion. The  juniper  trees  are  very  valuable  for  furnishing  shingles.  Every 
deep  burning  of  any  portion  of  a  juniper  swamp  exposes  numerous  dead 
but  sound  trunks,  before  buried  and  concealed,  from  which  much  shingle 
timber  is  obtained.    Thus,  though  the  great  fires,  which  occur  after  almost 


RESOURCES   OP   NORTH   CAROLINA.  11 

every  unusual  drought,  kill  the  living  trees,  and  burn  and  destroy  much  of 
the  upper  earth  also,  they  are  often  the  cause  of  exposing  much  greater 
values  in  the  before  buried  juniper  trunks." 

In  fact,  the  whole  of  the  vast  area  of  swamp  lands  of  east- 
ern North  Carolina,  estimated  at  two  millions  of  acres,  is  a 
great  mine  of  valuable  cedar  and  cypress  timber,  and  the  only 
practically  inexhaustible  store  of  this  necessary  element  of 
supply  to  the  Northern  States. 

Growing  with  the  cypress  on  the  best  lands  bordering  the 
swamps  and  bays  of  this  lower  district,  there  is  also  a  fine 
tree  called  the  black  gum,  two  or  three  feet  in  diameter,  and 
fifty  feet  to  the  branches,  valuable  for  a  great  variety  of  pur- 
poses. Gigantic  poplars  are  also  intermixed,  with  laurel  large 
enough  for  use  as  timber,  and  one  or  two  varieties  of  water 
maple. 

But  the  greatest  timber  trees  of  North  Carolina  are  the 
pines,  of  which  there  are  four  or  five  conspicuous  species. 
That  first  deserving  notice  is  the  Great  Swamp  pine,  or  the 
naval  timber  pine,  a  variety  growing  in  a  few  localities  on  the 
borders  of  the  sounds  and  bays.  Magnificent  timber  of  this 
species  has  been  cut  within  a  few  years  for  naval  purposes,  and 
the  few  clumps  and  scattering  trees  tower  far  above  the  height 
of  the  surrounding  forest  whenever  found.  In  a  lot  of  seven- 
teen mast  sticks,  cut  in  Bertie  County  in  1856,  one  was  88  feet 
long,  two  86  feet,  four  80  feet,  and  six  more  70  feet  or  over, 
varying  from  20  to  36  inches  square ;  they  measured  from 
200  to  600  cubic  feet  in  each  stick,  nearly  all  heart  wood. 
It  is  unfortunate  that  but  few  of  these  groves  remain,  but 
being  so  conspicuous  and  so  valuable,  it  was  not  to  be  ex- 
pected that  they  would  escape  notice  and  capture.  "We  are 
assured,  however,  that  they  are  still  frequent  in  the  more 
secluded  portions  of  the  bay  country. 

Next,  away  from  the  water  border,  come  the  great  pine 
forests  for  which  North  Carolina  is  celebrated.  They  occupy 
all  the  sandy  lands,  the  two  great  species  being  the  long-leafed 
southern  pine,  and  the  yellow  pine.  The  first-named  is  the 
turpentine  tree,  so  long  wastefully  cut  for  the  manufacture  of 
turpentine  and  rosin.  It  grows  on  the  poorest  of  the  sandy 
soils,  to  an  average  of  seventy  feet  high,  with  a  trunk  of 


12  RESOURCES    OP    NORTH    CAROLINA. 

nearly  uniform  diameter  of  twenty  inches  for  about  fifty  feet, 
forming  a  beautifully  straight  columned  series  of  forest  arches, 
crowned  with  tufted  summits,  of  leaves  ten  or  twelve  inches 
long.  Such  a  forest  is  peculiarly  attractive  to  a  stranger,  and 
it  is  as  valuable  for  practical  uses  as  it  is  picturesque  and 
beautiful.  Long  seed  cones,  seven  or  eight  inches  in  length, 
contain  edible  seeds. 

"For  naval  architecture  the  timber  of  this  tree,"  Ruffin  says,  "is  pre- 
ferred to  that  of  all  other  pines."  "The  broad  belt  of  land  stretching 
through  North  Carolina,  which  has  been  covered  by  the  long-leafed  pine, 
except  on  the  borders  of  rivers,  is  generally  level,  sandy,  and  naturally 
poor.  Even  if  it  had  been  much  richer,  and  better  for  agricultural  profits, 
the  labors  of  agriculture  would  still  have  been  neglected  in  the  generally 
preferred  pursuit  of  the  turpentine  harvest.  But  so  great  were  the  profits 
of  labor,  and  even  of  the  land,  in  the  turpentine  business,  compared  to 
other  available  products,  that  capital  thus  invested  has  generally  yielded 
more  profit  than  agriculture  on  the  richest  lands."  (Ruffin.) 

North  Carolina  is  the  first  State  in  which  these  splendid 
forests  of  long-leafed  pine  are  found.  A  few  specimens  are 
found  in  Southampton  and  Nansemond  Counties,  Virginia; 
but  almost  immediately  on  entering  North  Carolina,  the  fine 
arched  canopies  of  this  splendid  tree  begin,  and  stretch  in  one 
unbroken  belt  across  the  State.  Some  of  this  timber  has  been 
injured  by  long  tapping  of  the  trees  for  turpentine  ;  but  it  is 
still  of  vast  value  in  the  aggregate,  and  it  is  so  easy  of  access 
to  cutting  by  mills  on  the  rivers  and  bays,  and  the  value 
placed  on  the  lands  themselves  is  so  moderate,  that  great  ad- 
vantages are  offered  to  occupants  who  know  how  to  put  the 
whole  tree  to  use,  as  well  as  to  extract  the  turpentine. 

The  remaining  valuable  species  is  the  yellow  pine,  a  fine 
tree  in  two  or  three  counties  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State. 
It  is  very  valuable  for  flooring  lumber,  and  it  grows  to  a  large 
size,  with  fine  clear  trunks.  But  it  disappears  as  the  more 
compact  forests  of  long-leafed  pine  begin,  and  is  only  of 
secondary  importance  in  the  general  appearance  of  the  forests. 
There  are  two  or  three  other  species  of  pine  in  the  State,  but 
not  important.  The  old  field  pines  of  the  wasted  lands,  a 
small  pine  of  the  poorer  swamps,  and  some  instances  of  white 
pine  in  the  mountains  of  the  western  part  of  the  State. 

These  are  the  most  conspicuous  forest  growths  of  North 


RESOURCES    OP   NORTH    CAROLINA.  13 

Carolina  that  are  accredited  as  "having  commercial  or  busi- 
ness importance  to  new  settlers.  /But  there  are  also  very  rich 
and  varied  forests  in  the  rolling  lands  west  of  the  pine  plains, 
in  which  valuable  timber  of  oak,  walnut,  chestnut,  the  gum 
trees,  and  man},  others  may  be  found.'  No  part  of  the  State 
is  so  bare  of  fine  timber  as  the  corresponding  parts  of  Vir- 
ginia are.  The  oaks  and  other  trees  of  the  middle  region, 
above  the  pine  forests,  are  of  magnificent  growth,  and  in 
great  variety.  And  in  the  mountainous  counties  of  the  west 
a  singular  forest  phenomenon  exists  in  the  crowning  balsam 
firs  of  several  of  the  principal  mountains.  'The  Black  Moun- 
tains of  Buncombe  County,  north  of  Asheville,  are  the 
most  couspicuous  for  this  dense  growth  of  black  balsam  firs. 
The  Boan  or  Bald  Mountains,  west  of  this  valley,  and  the' 
Balsam  Mountains,  southwest  of  Asheville,  are  the  principal 
instances  of  this  peculiarity,  in  addition  to  the  first  named. 

/The  elevated  districts  of  the  western  counties  bring  in  the 
general  forest  variety  of  the  Northern  States,  and  the  beech, 
maple,  chestnut,  linden,  and  similar  treegi  are  almost  as  abund- 
ant as  they  are  in  Pennsylvania  or  New  York.  White  pine  is 
often  found  with  a  handsome  growth,  and  forming  trunks  as 
large  as  in  the  Northern  States.  Although  these  peculiarities 
of  forest  growth  in  the  western  part-of  the  State  are  of  less  busi- 
ness or  commercial  importance  than  the  pine  and  cypress  of 
the  east,  they  aid  in  proving  the  State  distinction  for  pic- 
turesque and  conspicuous  forests,  and  a  just  preference  for 
their  beauty  as  well  as  for  their  value. 

The  Soil  of  North  Carolina. 

The  soil  of  North  Carolina  must  be  relied  upon  as  the 
principal  and  permanent  basis  of  prosperity,  however.  There 
is,  in  the  opinion  of  Edmund  Ruffin  and  other  intelligent 
writers  on  Southern  agriculture,  a  marked  superiority  in  the 
lands  near  the  Atlantic  coast,  after  entering  North  Carolina, 
over  those  of  Virginia,  at  least.  In  the  whole  coast  line  from 
New  Jersey  southward,  there  is  first  a  belt  of  swamp  lands 
nearest  the  sea,  and  next  a  wide  tract,  generally  level,  sandy, 


14  RESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

and  covered  with  pine  timber,  which  extends  westward  to  the 
edge  of  the  rolling  lands.  In  North  Carolina  both  these  belts 
are  very  large  :/the  swamp  lands  proper  are  estimated  at  two 
millions  of  acres,  and  the  pine  forest  lands  next  to  tbem  are 
nearly  as  great  in  extent.  And  here  it  is  proper  to  say,  that 
what  are  called  "  swamp  lands"  are  by  no  means  irreclaim- 
able swamps.  They  are  generally  highly  fertile,  and  not  dif- 
ficult of  reclamation.  Professor  Emmons,  for  many  years 
State  geologist,  estimates  their  value,  in  a  special  report  to  the 
North  Carolina  Legislature,  to  be  as  great  as  that  of  four  mil- 
lions of  uplands. 

"  We  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  the  two  millions  of  swamp  lands 
are  worth  four  millions  of  upland.  In  a  rough  estimate  of  this  kind  we 
take  time  and  expense  of  cultivation  into  the  account — the  time  these 
lands  endure  without  the  use  of  expensive  fertilizers,  and  the  ease  and  the 
slight  wear  and  tear  of  the  instruments  used  in  cultivation,  when  com- 
pared in  the  same  list  of  expenses  required  in  the  cultivation  of  the  up- 
land of  the  middle  counties."  (Report  of  State  Geologist  for  1860,  p.  5.) 

As  these  swamp  lands  are  the  first  encountered  in  entering 
the  State  from  the  north,  by  way  of  Norfolk,  it  may  be  well 
to  describe  them  first.  They  have  been  the  subject  of  ela- 
borate examination  and  report,  by  both  Professor  Emmons, 
and  Edmund  Euffin,  of  Virginia,  the  first  in  1860,  and  the 
last  in  1861.  Remarkable  peculiarities  are  presented  in  the 
soil  of  these  tracts,  and  all  observers  agree  that  nothing  has 
been  found  exactly  like  them,  and  nothing  equal  to  them  in 
fertility  when  reclaimed. 

The  entire  body  of  these  lands  is  a  vast  plain,  with  open 
but  shallow  bays  or  lakes,  and  deep  navigable  rivers,  every- 
where cutting  through  it.  jMost  of  the  land  is  only  from  four 
to  ten  feet  above  tide,  though  the  interior  of  all  the  tracts 
rises,  whether  wet  and  an  actual  swamp,  or  dry  and  fully  re- 
claimed, to  the  height  of  twelve,  fifteen,  and  sometimes  twenty 
feet.  There  is,  therefore,  always  an  ample  descent  to  afford 
drainage  when  ditches  or  canals  are  cut.  The  materials  which 
form  the  soil  are,  to  a  surprising  extent,  vegetable  or  organic 
matters,  the  proportion  of  sand,  lime,  or  earths  of  any  kind 
never  exceeding  one-half,  and  often  not  amounting  to  more 


RESOURCES    OF   NORTH   CAROLINA.  15 

than  one-tenth.     Emmons  describes   the  general   extent  and 
appearance  of  these  lands  as  follows  : — 

"The  lauds  under  consideration  are  confined  to  the  eastern  counties. 
They  scarcely  touch  the  long  narrow  sounds  that  skirt  the  Atlantic. 
Large  bodies  extend  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  miles  from  the  ocean,  and 
occupy  wide  belts  not  far  from,  and  parallel  with,  the  principal  rivers.  .  .  . 
The  most  northern  swamp  is  a  continuation  of  the  Great  Dismal,  lying 
partly  in  Virginia  and  partly  in  North  Carolina.  .  .  .  Numerous  towns  and 
hamlets  are  planted  in  it ;  it  is  traversed  by  roads,  and  few  in  passing 
through  this  section  of  the  country  would  suspect  that  they  were  in  this 
swamp,  famous  the  world  over  for  its  ominous  name.  The  largest  terri- 
tory of  swamp  lands  lies  in  Washington,  Tyrrel,  Beaufort,  and  Hyde 
Counties.  Its  whole  length  is  rather  more  than  75  miles  from  east  to 
west,  and  at  least  forty -five  in  the  widest  part,  from  north  to  south.  It  lies 
between  Albemarle  Sound,  the  lower  Roanoke  River,  and  Pamlico  Sound, 
Pamlico  and  Tar  Rivers.  .  .  .  This  great  body  differs  from  other  swamps 
by  a  more  uniform  continuity,  and  a  more  perfect  level,  and  with  fewer 
knolls,  called  islands.  Hyde  County,  for  example,  is  as  level  as  a  house 
floor,  or  as  a  well  constructed  garden.  It  is  but  a  few  feet  above  tide. 
This  swamp  has  four  shallow  lakes  of  considerable  size  ;  the  largest  is 
Matamuskeet,  which  is  twenty  miles  long.  Lying  a  few  feet  lower  than 
the  swamp  are  tracts  of  a  stiff  clay  soil,  probably  as  good  for  wheat  as  any 
in  the  State.  .  .  J  The  lands  of  this  swamp  have  become  famous  for  the 
large  crops  of  coi*n  they  produce." 

Other  tracts  of  these  lands  are  described,  one  between  the 
Pamlico  and  the  Neuse  Eivers,  an  eighth  of  the  size  of  that 
described  above  ;  another  of  great  size,  south  of  the  Neuse, 
in  Carteret  and  Jones  Counties,  "  eighty  thousand  acres  of 
which  is  the  open  prairie  of  Carteret,"  and  the  whole  of  which 
is  75  miles  in  length,  east  and  west ;  the  Dover  Swamp,  fif- 
teen miles  in  length,  is  another;  Holly  Shelter  Swamp,  in 
ISTew  Hanover  County,  and  the  Great  Green  Swamp,  in  Bruns- 
wick County.  This  embraces  an  immense  area  south  of  Wil- 
mington, and  its  connected  portions  reach  to  the  southeastern 
corner  of  the  State. 

(But  the  most  remarkable  feature  of  these  swamp  lands  is 
their  apparently  inexhaustible  fertility  when  reclaimed.-' 
Those  in  Hyde  County  are  the  most  celebrated,  and  the  cir- 
cle of  plantations  surrounding  Matamuskeet  Lake  has  been 
under  cultivation  for  more  than  a  century  with  undiminished 
crops,  j  The  farm  of  Dr.  Long,  of  Lake  Landing,  is  cited  by 
Professor  Emmons,  in  1860,  as  having  been  under  cultivation 


16  RESOURCES    OF    NORTH    CAROLINA. 

for  six  generations,  with  an  average  product  of  12  barrels  of 
5  bushels  each,  or  60  bushels  of  corn  per  acre.  Fourteen 
thousand  plants  to  the  acre  are  left  to  stand  for  the  crop,  and 
the  growth  is  12  feet  high.  Euffin  says  that  the  lands  under 
tillage  around  Matamuskeet  Lake,  in  1860,  amounted  to  fifty 
square  miles,  all  of  it  "  immensely  rich,  and  very  productive 
in  corn ;  the  good  land  sells  nearly  for  $75  to  $100  per  acre." 
He  also  declares  that  these  lands  are  much  superior  to  any 
similar  lands  in  Virginia — drainage  of  the  low,  peaty,  and 
swampy  lands  in  that  State,  supposed  to  be  similar,  not  hav- 
ing been  successful  in  producing  lands  of  permanent  fertility. 
Next  to  these  are  the  drained  lands  about  Lake  Scupper- 
nong,  in  Washington  and  Tyrrel  Counties.  This  lake  lies 
higher  than  Matamuskeet,  being  about  twenty  feet  above  tide. 
Yery  rich  and  productive  farms  have  been  made  around  this 
lake.     Euffin  says  : — 

"  The  principal  production  is  Indian  corn,  which  is  doubtless  the  best 
adapted  to  this  peculiar  soil,  and  is  therefore  most  sure  and  profitable. 
Wheat  is  grown  to  much  less  extent,  and  sometimes  produces  very  heavy 
crops.  Clover  and  cotton  have  both  been  found  productive — a  sufficient 
evidence  of  the  soil  being  well  drained.  \Rice  has  also  been  made  by  dry 
culture,  and  as  much  has  been  made  in  that  least  productive  mode  as  fifty 
bushels  of  rough  rice  to  the  acre.  Tobacco  has  been  tried  and  grew  well ; 
but  the  cured  leaves  were  deemed  too  coarse  and  thick." 

These  swamp  soils  are  singularly  composed  of  vegetable 
matter,  half  formed  into  peat,  yet  capable  of  being  rotted  and 
reduced  into  the  most  fertile  soils  in  the  world.  In  some  cases 
more  than  nine-tenths  of  the  mass  for  a  depth  of  ten  feet,  is 
vegetable  or  other  organic  matter,  the  accumulation  of  ages 
of  growth  and  of  partial  decay.  And  by  this  long  course  of 
accumulation  the  surface  has  been  elevated  so  much  as  to 
permit  free  drainage  from  the  centre  of  the  largest  swamp 
outward.  In  all  cases  the  central  parts  are  higher,  and  beau- 
tiful lakes  lie  in  these  positions  from  which  the  cultivation 
spreads  as  drainage  is  perfected.  Lake  Scuppernong  and 
Pungo  Lake,  in  Washington  and  Tyrrel  Counties,  and  Mata- 
muskeet Lake,  in  Hyde  County,  are  the  best  illustrations  of 
splendidly  fertile  soils  reclaimed  in  this  manner.  Two  samples 
of  Hyde  County  soil  are  reported  by  Professor  Emmons,  con- 
taining from  60  to  75  per  cent,  of  vegetable  matter,  and  15  to 


RESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  17 

20  per  cent,  of  fine  sand.     The  lands  and  what  they  had  pro- 
duced are  thus  described: —  (y^ 

r 
"  The  sample  A  was  taken  from  an  80  acre  field  lying  on  the  north  shore 
of  Matamuskeet  Lake,  and  running  back  half  a  mile.  This  land  has  been 
in  cultivation  about  20  years,  and  produces  now,  in  a  fair  crop  year  10  to 
12  barrels  (50  to  60  bushels)  of  corn  to  the  acre.  The  sample  B  was  taken 
from  a  640  acre  tract  lying  back  of  the  80  acre  field.  It  has  been  in  culti- 
vation five  years,  and  produces,  in  a  fair  crop  year,  from  10  to  12  barrels  of 
corn  per  acre.  These  lands  lie  between  Matamuskeet  and  Alligator  Lakes, 
four  miles  distant  from  Alligator  River.  Alligator  Lake  is  said  to  be  ten 
miles  wide  and  fifteen  long,  and  from  three  to  five  feet  deep.  It  lies  nearly 
in  the  centre  of  Hyde  County.  It  is  surrounded  by  a  ridge  from  four  to  six 
feet  above  the  sheet  of  water.  The  back  lands  are  drained  into  Alligator 
River  on  the  nort'h,  and  into  Pamlico  Sound  on  the  south.  The  cultivated 
lands  on  the  north  side  of  Matamuskeet  Lake  run  back  about  two  miles, 
and  are  very  uniform  in  quality.  The  north  side  is  the  best  and  deepest 
soil.  Indeed,  it  may  be  said  the  county  is  a  garden  spot.  It  has  a  popula- 
tion of  5000  to  6000,  and  ships  from  500,000  to  600,000  bushels  of  corn, 
and  some  50,000  bushels  of  wheat  per  annum  ;  to  which  may  be  added  a 
large  quantity  of  peas,  potatoes,  etc." 

From  this  description  of  what  has  actually  been  done  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  swamp  lands  of  Hyde  County,  it  is  clear  that 
there  is  a  mine  of  wealth  in  these  soils,  as  yet  only  begun  to 
be  opened.  Prof.  Emmons  also  says,  that  the  "  Hyde  County 
soils  show  a  capacity  for  endurance  greater  than  the  prairies 
of  Illinois,"  and  also,  "  as  it  regards  health,  Hyde  County  is 
no  more  subject  to  chills  and  fever  than  the  country  of  the 
prairies."  In  fact,  as  we  shall  show  in  another  place,  all  this 
so-called  swamp  region  is  singularly  healthy,  and  has  none 
of  the  diseases  of  swamp  districts  elsewhere. 

We  have  referred  more  at  length  to  the  coast  lands  of  North 
Carolina  than  was  necessary,  perhaps,  but  it  was  due  to  the 
intrinsic  merit  they  have,  to  show  what  wealth  may  be  devel- 
oped from  them,  and  to  avert  any  prejudice  that  might  be 
created  by  the  usual  language  employed  in  describing  them 
as  swamp  lands.  In  a  word,  the  timber  in  the  swamps  still 
nndrained,  and  the  inexhaustible  richness  of  their  cultivable 
soil  when  drained,  put  them  in  the  front  rank  for  productive 
value  to  the  enterprising  visitor. 


13  RESOURCES    OF   NORTH   CAROLINA. 

The  Sandy  Soils  of  the  Pine  Lands. 

The  pine  lands  have  not,  so  far,  been  so  fully  tested  for  ag- 
ricultural purposes  as  any  other  general  section  of  the  State, 
the  reason  being  that  the  pine  timber  was  too  valuable  to  be 
cu«t  away,  and  farming  the  turpentine  was  the  most  profitable 
pursuit.  But  it  is  a  sufficient  assurance  that  they  have  in- 
trinsic fertility  to  find  the  lofty  growth  of  pine  covering  them 
everywhere,  in  their  original  State.  When  cultivated  in  the 
careless  manner  often  found  in  the  previous  history  of  that 
section  they  are  of  course  exhausted,  and  being  laid  out  to 
"rest,"  the  after-growth  is  by  no  means  attractive,  and  their 
general  appearance  is  calculated  to  lead  to  the  belief  that  they 
cannot  be  made  productive.  But  there  can  be  no  greater  mis- 
take. The  whole  history  of  light  and  sandy  lands  is  one  well 
known  :  with  care  in  cultivation  they  are  always  productive  ; 
they  are  very  cheaply  and  easily  handled,  and  with  the  de- 
mand that  now  exists  for  early  crops,  they  have  a  value  they 
never  had  in  competition  with  richer  lands  without  early 
markets.  The  successful  experience  of  thousands  of  cultiva- 
tors in  New  Jersey,  Delaware  and  Maryland,  is  one  that  will 
be  repeated  on  an  equally  large  scale  on  the  long-leafed  pine 
lands  of  North  Carolina,  and  with  the  advantage  of  at  least  a 
month  advance  of  the  .season,  giving  a  precedence  in  the  sea- 
board city  markets  of  just  so  much  time. 

In  the  Northern  States  of  the  coast  above  referred  to,  the 
sandy  tracts  are  almost  always  lightly  timbered  ;  the  short 
and  inferior  growth  which  covers  them  in  New  Jersey  is  par- 
ticularly well  known.  This  short  growth  is  really  the  best 
test  Of  want  of  intrinsic  fertility.  Where  timber  of  a  larger 
character  will  grow,  the  real  fertility  of  the  soil  is  propor- 
tionally greater.  When,  therefore,  the  timber  which  now 
covers  them  is  removed,  the  lands,  instead  of  being  valueless 
for  cultivation,  will  repay  care  almost  as  well  as  any  others, 
and  they  will  be  peculiarly  fitted  to  early  market  culture,  in 
consequence  of  their  light  and  sandy  character. 


RESOURCES  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA.  19 

The  Great  Middle  District:  the  Piedmont  Lands. 

On  the  western  border  of  the  pine  lands,  a  large  and  most 
important  district  begins,  stretching  westward  to  the  foot  of 
the  Blue  Ridge,  and  embracing  an  immense  area.  It  is  more 
than  200  miles  in  length  from  east  to  west,  and  it  includes 
over  30  entire  counties.  It  all  belongs  to  what  is  called  in 
Virginia,  the  Piedmont  region,  on  the  foot  of  the  mountains, 
as  distinguished  from  the  eastern  plains  and  the  interior  val- 
leys west  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  But  in  North  Carolina  this  belt 
is  more  than  twice  as  wide  as  in  Virginia,  and  it  constitutes 
the  greater  part  of  the  State  under  cultivation. 

It  is  a  district  of  great  capacity,  and  of  that  peculiar  attrac- 
tiveness which  is  so  well  known  further  north.  The  surface 
is  undulatory  and  varied,  with  many  river  valleys  and  much 
bottom  land  along  them.  Rich  and  productive  farming  lands 
abound,  interspersed,  however,  with  tracts  on  which  cultiva- 
tion has  been  carelessly  bestowed,  and  the  usual  proportion 
of  washed  and  worn-out  slopes  maybe  found,  grown  up,  in 
places,  to  the  old-field  pines.  But  here,  as  in  Virginia  and 
Maryland,  careful  cultivation  very  soon  restores  them,  and 
they  have  all  the  qualities  of  the  light,  easily  worked,  warm 
lands  which  are  so  readily  made  remunerative  under  careful 
cultivation  in  the  south. 

Geologically  this  whole  great  district  is  one  in  which  the 
stratification  has  been  much  disturbed  by  the  forces  which 
elevated  the  mountain  chains,  the  rock  ledges  being  turned 
up  almost  on  edge,  and  quartz  and  other  primary  rock 
veins  often  showing  at  the  surface.  All  these  formations 
have  been  swept  over  by  a  powerful  denuding  force,  which 
has  crushed  and  carried  away  a  vast  amount  of  the  earth  and 
rocks.  Scientific  writers  call  it,  therefore,  the  "  denuded 
region."  Its  soils  are  peculiar,  but  with  many  belts  of  rich, 
red  clay,  deep  loamy  ridges,  and  light  mixtures  of  clay  and 
sand.  The  worst  fault  is  the  want  of  limestone,  yet  on  the 
whole  it  is  a  very  attractive  and  productive  district.  The 
careful  Mr.  Ruffm  says  of  these  lands  :— 

"  The  lands  of  the  Piedmont  region  (including  all  the  surface  here 
treated  as  part  of  the  denuded  region),  in  their  natural  state  of  fertility,  as 


20  RESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

found  when  first  settled  by  the  white  race  and  subjected  to  the  tillage, 
were  in  general  far  more  fertile  than  the  great  body  of  the  lower  drift 
formed  lands.  .  .  .  Again,  since  the  course  of  improvement  and  resuscita- 
tion has  been  begun,  and  has  been  extensively  in  successful  progress  in 
both  regions,  the  lands  of  the  denuded  region  have  been  found  most 
capable  of  being  enriched  by  putrescent  manures  alone,  and  restored  to 
the  productive  condition." 

In  fact  the  natural  growths  of  grass  and  grain  on  these 
lands,  being  carefully  preserved  to  put  the  waste  and  the 
manures  again  on  the  soil,  afford  the  best  and  cheapest  means 
of  restoring  them. /No  form  of  expensive  fertilizers  is  equal, 
for  such  soils,  to  the  straw  heap  and  the  cattle  yard  accu- 
mulations. Soils  of  this  class  always  require  to  be  kept 
covered  as  much  as  possible,  and  to  be  laid  down  in  clover 
or  grass  at  frequent  intervals.  The  climate  of  this  part  of  the 
State,  while  not  so  favorable  as  in  the  West,  by  no  means 
forbids  clover  cultivation,  as  we  shall  show  in  another  place. 

This  great  middle  belt  will  probably  please  Northern 
farmers  more  than  any  other  part  of  the  State.  It  has  such 
variety  of  surface,  with  woodlands  of  various  sorts,  groves, 
hills,  water  power  at  the  rivers,  as  they  descend  the  several 
steps  to  the  sea  level,  and  so  much  to  satisfy  the  wish  for 
varied  cultivation  that  thousands  will  choose  them  for  resi- 
dence. At  the  prices  at  which  they  are  generally  held,  there 
is  nothing  more  remunerative.  Cotton  can  be  tried  for 
varietjr,  while  corn,  wheat,  and  all  the  ordinary  farm  products 
of  the  Central  States  are  unfailing  staples.  This  section  has 
been  well  compared  with  Northern  Italy  and  Southern 
France,  with  the  climate  of  which  it  strikingly  corresponds, 
and  it  requires  only  skill  in  cultivation  to  develop  almost 
every  growth  known  in  those  attractive  countries  of  Europe. 

But  as  we  are  here  referring  to  the  soil  and  surface  more 
particularly,  we  will  repeat  that  (there  is  no  part  of  the  Atlan- 
tic slope  of  the  Alleghanies  that  affords  greater  advantages 
of  soil  than  the  belt,  200  miles  wide,  which  in  North  Carolina 
stretches  from  the  Blue  Ridge  mountain  foot  to  the  pine 
forests  of  the  low  country.  /"Twenty  thousand  square  miles 
of  area  are  embraced  in  this  generally  uniform  belt,  the  posi- 
tion of  which  is  such  that  the  soil  will  produce  all  temperate 
climate  staples,   and  half  those  belonging  to    semi-tropical 


RESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  21 

districts.  •  Going  westward,  there  are  several  moderate  steps 
of  ascent,  so  that  each,  range  of  counties  in  succession  affords 
some  modification  toward  cooler  uplands,  but  it  is  all  the 
characteristic  Piedmont  soil,  with  upturned  rock  stratification, 
and  rich  belts  interspersed  with  others  of  a  poorer  character. 
In  the  mild  climate  of  North  Carolina  these  soils  are  far 
more  susceptible  of  being  brought  up  to  a  high  standard  of 
productiveness  than  they  would  be  even  in  Maryland,  and 
they  would  be  particularly  tempting  to  a  northern  farmer, 
who  has  to  struggle  with  refractory  clays  during  the  cold 
rains  of  May  and  June  in  the  North. 

The  Mountain  and  Valley  Soils  of  the  Western  Part. 

West  of  the  Blue  Eidge  lies  the  American  Switzerland,  an 
elevated  mass  of  valleys  and  mountains,  from  which  the  rivers 
all  run  westward  into  Tennessee,  no  streams  passing  through 
the  lofty  Blue  Eidge  to  the  Atlantic.  There  are  fourteen 
counties  in  this  western  section,  and  the  loftiest  mountains  of 
the  whole  Alleghany  range  cluster  around  it  on  both  sides. 
/The  soils  are  the  very  best  for  grazing,  and  are  characteristic 
Sof  the  plateau  of  the  Alleghanies  from  New  York  southward, 
being  formed  of  loam  and  drift,  deeply  abraded  from  slates, 
shales,  and  limestones.  The  river  borders  have  fine  and  rich 
gravel  flats,  and  the  hill-sides  are  always  green  with  grass. 

The  forests  of  this  western  tier  of  counties  show  an  abun- 
dant growth  of  the  sugar  maple,  a  tree  characteristic  of  the 
best  northern  grazing  lands,  and  of  a  temperate  and  healthy 
climate.  (The  valley  will  average  2000  feet  above  the  sea  at 
its  lowest  part,  and  the  slopes  of  the  mountains  exhibit  every 
variety  of  elevation  above  this  to  the  mountain  tops,  averaging 
4000  feet  for  the  chains  generally,  and  6500  feet  for  some 
twenty  of  the  highest  peaks.  To  show  the  cultivated  pro- 
ducts of  these  counties,  we  append  the  results  of  the  census 
of  I860:— 


22  RESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 


Wheat. 

Corn. 

3ats  and  Rye. 

Cattle  and 
Sheep.    ' 

Butter  and 
Wool. 

Ashe     .     .     . 

3,500  bus. 

110,000  bus. 

100,000  bus. 

11,000 

105,500  lbs 

Buncombe 

.     25,000 

50,000 

150,000 

30,500 

275,000 

Cherokee 

.      3,000 

20,5,000 

37,000 

11,500 

65,000 

Henderson    .     , 

.       7,000 

326,000 

48,500 

14,500 

74,000 

Haywood 

.     15,000 

200,000 

50,000 

16,250 

100,000 

Jackson    .     . 

.     18,000 

238,000 

11,000 

6,119 

51,000 

Macon  .     .     . 

.     65,000 

270,000 

17,500 

11,900 

83,000 

Madison    .    . 

.     32  500 

23-;,  500 

33,000 

10,200 

68,000 

"Watauga 

.     14,000 

110,000 

54,300 

10,607 

87,000 

Yancey 


25,000  67,000  14,000  25,000 


The  growth  of  corn  is  due  to  the  number  of  river  valleys, 
and  among  the  products  there  is  an  aggregate,  in  the  ten 
counties,  of  138,000  bushels  sweet  potatoes,  36,000  pounds 
maple  sugar,  and  $68,500  in  value  of  orchard  products.  The 
climate  and  soil  favor  orchard  fruits  very  much,  and  no  part 
of  the  South  will  compare  with  it,  while  nothing  at  the  North 
is  superior. 

Staple  Crops'  Cotton. 

Though  the  grain  crops  of  the  State  are  very  large,  and 
more  valuable  in  the  aggregate,  cotton  has  peculiar  interest, 
and  we  place  it  first  in  order  in  consequence  of  the  attractions 
it  has  for  residents  of  districts  where  cotton  is  not  grown. 
There  is  great  capacity  for  cotton  culture  in  North  Carolina, 
and  the  experience  of  the  most  skilful  farmers  is  that  land 
may  be  fertilized  so  as  to  produce  two,  three,  or  even  more 
bales  to  the  acre,  precisely  as  fertilization  will  produce  corn 
or  any  other  crop.  Heretofore  cotton  lands  have  simply  been 
cropped  without  any  attempt  to  maintain  their  fertility,  and 
when  they  would  no  longer  produce  enough  to  repay  the  cost 
of  cultivation,  they  were  thrown  out  as  worthless.  In  the 
new  era  of  management  of  soils  at  the  South,  cotton  will  be 
restored  to  thousands  of  tracts  from  which  it  has  been  dropped 
for  the  last  fifteen  or  twenty  years,  and  under  the  present 
remunerative  prices  it  will  be  a  crop  worthy  attention  on  many 
tracts  where  it  is  not  now  grown. 

In  1860  the  total  production  of  cotton  in  the  State  was 
145,514  bales,  of  400  pounds  each.  The  value  of  this  crop 
now,  at  25  cents  net  a  pound,  would  be  $1,455,140,  a  hand- 
some accession  to  the  resources  of  the  State  for  a  year.  Look- 
ing at  the  distribution  of  this  crop  for  1860,  we  find  more  or 


RESOURCES    OF    NORTH    CAROLINA. 


23 


less  cotton  grown  in  two  thirds  of  the  counties.  The  follow- 
ing is  a  list  of  the  chief  cotton  producing  counties  in  which 
the  quantities  exceed  400  bales,  and  in  the  general  table  which 
we  give  elsewhere  of  the  crops  of  1860  as  shown  by  the  cen- 
sus, it  will  be  seen  what  counties  produced  it  then  in  quanti- 
ties less  than  400  bales. 


Chief  Cotton   Growing  Counties  for  1860. 


Edgecombe 
Halifax 
Anson   . 
Pitt  .     . 
Rowan  . 
Bertie    . 
Northampton 
Mecklenberg 
Wake     .     . 
Richmond 
Cab  arras 
Greene  . 
Lenoir  . 
"Wayne 
Robeson 
Martin  . 
Union    . 
Wilson  . 
Johnson 
Franklin 
Nash     . 


19,138 

Hertford 

10,432 

Surry        .     . 

9,378 

Montgomery 

7,634 

Jones       .     . 

6,957 

Duplin     .     . 

6,672 

Moore     .     . 

6,632 

Sampson 

6,112 

Gaston    .     . 

6,112 

Orange    .     . 

5,714 

Craven    .     . 

4,731 

Chatham 

4,589 

Chow an  .     . 

4,283 

Beaufort 

4,062 

Iredell     .     . 

3,467 

Cleveland    . 

3,068 

Haywood 

3,054 

Davidson 

3,012 

Stanley    .     . 

2,892 

Watauga 

2,673 

Person     . 

2,756 

Hyde 

Bales. 

2,447 

1,902 

1,409 

1,185 

1,171 

958 

962 

893 

848 

817 

800 

782 

609 

502 

476 

452 

458 

473 

450 

400 

400 


On  examination,  these  cotton  producing  counties  are  found 
to  be  grouped  around  the  leading  rivers,  and  to  be  chiefly 
near  the  border  of  the  sandy  plains.  The  best  district  is  on 
the  northern  border  of  the  State  in  the  valley  of  the  Roanoke, 
where  four  counties  produce  26,804  bales;  next,  four  counties 
on  the  Tar  River  produce,  in  a  somewhat  larger  area,  32.200 
bales.  Edgecombe  County,  on  this  river,  produces  19,138 
bales,  which  is  the  greatest  production  reported  by  any  county. 
Together,  these  two  river  valleys  in  the  northeastern  part  of 
the  State  produced  over  60,000  bales  of  cotton  in  1860. 

On  the  Neuse  River  the  cotton  product  was  18,000  bales, 
while  the  counties  through  which  the  Cape  Fear  passes  report 
much  less.     Six  or  seven  counties  on  the  Yadkin  make  up 


24  RESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

over  30,000  bales,  and  on  the  Catawba  and  Broad  Rivers,  fur- 
ther west,  there  was  a  considerable  production.  There  are 
few  counties,  as  we  have  said,  that  did  not  produce  some  cot- 
ton in  1860,  and  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  careful  cultivation 
would  greatly  extend  its  range  in  the  uplands,  and  add  largely 
to  the  exportable  product. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  cotton  cannot  be  grown  in 
the  general  and  varied  farming  which  best  maintains  the  fer- 
tility of  the  soil.  In  the  North  the  rotation  of  crops  which 
is  invariable,  is,  more  than  anything  else,  the  guaranty  that 
the  soil  will  not  be  exhausted.  It  is  the  "rest"  which  is 
needed,  and  which  is  infinitely  preferable  to  laying  out  the 
lands  in  barren  abandonment.  It  is  safe  to  assume  that  with 
proper  attempts  to  maintain  the  uplands,  and  with  the  open- 
ing of  new  tracts  in  the  low  country,  the  cotton  crop  of  the 
State  can  be  brought  up  to  250,000  bales  as  a  reliable  average. 

The  great  cotton  market  of  the  State,  and  to  which  a 
large  quantity  from  South  Carolina  also  comes  for  shipment, 
is  Wilmington.  In  our  notice  of  the  commerce  of  Wilming- 
ton the  facts  will  be  fully  given. 

Rice 

The  capacity  of  the  low  country  of  North  Carolina  for  rice 
culture  is  much  greater  than  is  usually  supposed.  In  1860 
the  whole  State  produced  7,593,976  pounds,  four-fifths  of 
which  was  in  Brunswick  County,  but  twelve  or  fifteen  other 
counties  produced  a  notable  quantity. 

Pounds. 

Brunswick 6,775,286 

Columbus          ......  170,595 

Duplin 110,204 

Sampson 87,977 

New  Hanover, 69,049 

Pitt 54,103 

Eobeson 46,692 

Bladen 53,606 

Onslow 43,938 

Brunswick  County  is  as  perfect  a  rice  district  as  any  on  the 
coast,  and  in  this  county  and  vicinity  many  of  the  most  sue- 


RESOURCES    OF   NORTH   CAROLINA.  25 

cessful  localities  of  northern  capital  and  enterprise  have  been 
made. 

Upland  or  dryland  rice  is  grown  on  the  reclaimed  swamp 
land  of  Hyde  County  and  Albemarle.  It  is  a  branch  of 
industry  worth  looking  into,  in  view  of  its  extension  to  other 
reclaimed  lands  of  this  coast.  Mr.  Ruffin  says,  in  his  valu- 
able "  Sketches  of  Lower  North  Carolina,"  p.  239,  that  on  the 
swamp  lands  of  the  Pamlico  and  Albemarle  districts,  in  Hyde 
and  Tyrrell  Counties,  "  rice  has  also  been  made,  by  dry  cul- 
ture, and,  as  much  has  been  raised,  in  that  least  productive 
mode,  as  fifty  bushels  of  rough  rice  to  the  acre."  This  im- 
portant fact  in  regard  to  the  capacity  of  the  drained  lands, 
should  not  be  neglected  in  estimating  their  value. 

Indian  Corn. 

This  is  the  great  staple  crop  of  the  State,  and  almost  its 
chief  reliance  alike  for  breadstuff's  and  for  export,  as  the 
statistics  of  the  census  show.  The  corn  grown  at  the  South 
is  well  known  for  higher  farinaceous  qualities  than  that  of 
the  States  in  the  latitude  of  New  York.  Containing  less 
both  of  moisture  and  of  oil  in  the  kernel,  it  is  admirably 
adapted  for  shipment  to  foreign  countries,  and  for  distant 
transportation  generally.  It  never  fails  of  a  market,  there- 
fore, and  with  the  facility  of  reaching  it  at  the  various  outlets 
by  water  and  rail,  the  export  of  corn  may  always  be  relied 
upon  as  among  the  most  certain  and  valuable. 

Indian  corn  is  grown  in  every  county  of  the  State ;  the 
river  bottoms  and  lower  slopes  of  even  the  mountain  region 
yielding  large  and  profitable  returns.  On  the  swamp  lands, 
as  we  have  before  mentioned,  the  crop  of  corn  is  very  heavy 
and  constant.  It  has  been  grown  for  fifty  to  sixty  years,  in 
some  cases,  with  but  a  very  slight  diminution  of  the  product, 
or  decrease  of  fertility.  The  lowest  product  on  these  lands  is 
thirty  bushels,  and  the  highest  near  a  hundred  bushels  per 
acre.  Nothing  can  more  forcibly  convey  the  impression  of 
vast  productive  capacity,  than  to  see  a  cornfield  of  two  or 
three  hundred  acres,  on  land  as  level  as  a  floor,  standing 
twelve  feet  high,  and  yielding  when  harvested  twelve  barrels 


26  RESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

or  sixty  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre.  Yet  such  fields  may  be 
seen  in  the  swamp  lands  of  the  northeastern  part  of  the 
State  now,  while  opportunity  exists  to  drain  and  open  vast 
areas  to  a  like  abundant  production. 

Of  course  it  is  requisite  to  invest  something  in  the  prepa- 
ration of  lands  for  such  cropping  as  this,  but  with  the  cer- 
tainty that  for  half  a  century,  almost,  the  store  of  vegetable 
matter  in  these  soils  would  answer  to  the  fullest  draft  upon 
it,  without  material  weakness  or  exhaustion,  there  can  be  no 
more  promising  opening  to  a  spirited  farmer  or  capitalist. 

The  corn  crop  of  North  Carolina  in  1860  reached  30,078,564 
bushels,  an  increase  over  that  of  1850  of  2,137,513  bushels. 
In  1867  it  was  estimated  at  only  17,967,000  bushels,  but  since 
the  last  census  we  cannot  state  with  definiteness  what  the  pro- 
duction has  been.  Probably  it  is  now  little  or  none  in  excess 
of  1860,  in  consequence  of  the  hesitation  of  new  cultivators 
to  open  their  lands,  and  the  unfortunate  neglect  of  too  many 
of  the  present  occupants  to  improve  and  fertilize  the  tracts  in 
their  hands.  Simultaneously  with  the  inauguration  of  new 
enterprises,  however,  the  dormant  energies  of  all  others  will 
be  brought  into  action,  and  this  class  of  products  will  be 
brought  out  in  constantly  increasing  abundance. 

It  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  census  statistics  of  I860, 
that  but  ten  States  produced  a  larger  aggregate,  and  in  1850 
only  nine  exceeded  the  production  of  this  staple  in  North 
Carolina. 

The  Wheat  Crop. 

It  could  scarcely  be  expected  that  the  soils  of  this  State 
would  be  especially  adapted  to  wheat,  yet  the  product  in 
1860,  was  4,743,706  bushels,  distributed  quite  generally  over 
the  State.  Even  the  drained  swamp-lands  produce  wheat, 
though  of  course  not  so  profitably.  In  the  counties  of  the 
Albemarle  and  Pamlico  districts,  a  good  deal  of  wheat  is 
grown,  the  counties  surrounding  these  Sounds  averaging 
20,000  bushels  each,  nearly,  in  1860.  The  greatest  production 
was  in  the  central  part  of  the  State — Chatham,  Davidson, 
and  Eandolph  Counties  leading,  with  an  average  of  about 
225,000  bushels  each.     Next,  Granville,  Orange,  Alamance, 


RESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  2< 

Guilford,  and  Rowan,  in  the  same  vicinity,  furnish  150,000  to 

200,000  bushels  each.  Even  the  mountain  counties  produce 
from  10,000  to  60,000  bushels  each,  showing  that  wheat  may 
be  successfully  grown  there  also. 

Euffin  says  of  the  Albemarle  swamp-lands,  after  speaking  of 
their  great  production  of  Indian  corn,  that  "  wheat  is  grown  to 
a  much  less  extent,  but  often  produces  very  heavy  crops," 
(p.  239,  Sketches  of  N.  C).  And  again  (p.  99) :  ''Corn  is  the  great 
crop  of  the  Eoanoke  lands,  though  line  crops  of  wheat  are 
raised  in  Northampton  County,  and  in  Halifax,  giving  evi- 
dence of  the  fitness  of  the  low-ground  soils  for  that  crop." 
The  visitor  from  other  States  may  therefore  expect  to  find 
opportunities  for  a  variety  of  cultivation  that  he  has  not  been 
led  to  anticipate  from  the  current  impression  conveyed  in  the 
usual  references  to  this  State. 

Other  Grains:  Peas,  Potatoes,  &c. 

The  census  of  1860  shows  a  production  of  ■436,856  bushels 
of  rye,  and  2,781,860  bushels  of  oats,  both  being  very  equally 
distributed  over  the  State.  Barley  is  scarcely  grown,  and  but 
a  small  quantity  of  buckwheat.  Peas  and  beans  are  much  in 
excess  of  any  other  State  of  the  Union,  both  in  1850  and  1860  ; 
being  in  1850,  1,584,252  bushels,  and  in  1S60,  1,932,204 
bushels.  Peas  are,  in  fact,  a  most  prolific  crop,  favored 
greatly  by  both  soil  and  climate,  and  the  natural  alternate  of 
wheat  and  Indian  corn.  All  writers  on  the  cultivation  of 
lands  of  lower  North  Carolina  recommend  sowing  peas,  as  a 
preparatory,  or  fallow  crop.  Euffin  says  (p.  89,  "Statistics" 
&c.)  speaking  of  the  northeastern  counties  : — 

"The  farmers  of  this  region  possess  peculiar  facilities  for  rotation  in  the 
pea  crop,  and  a  climate  admirably  adapted  to  its  growth.  The  limited  terri- 
tory on  which  both  the  pea  and  the  wheat  crop  can  grow  well,  the  one  suit- 
ing so  well  to  prepare  for  and  aid  the  growth  of  the  other,  I  deem  the  most 
favored  of  agricultural  regions.  .  .  .  It  is  true  that  peas  are  planted,  as 
a  secondary  crop,  in  every  field  of  corn,  and  the  returns  are  highly  valued. 
.  .  .  With  the  superior  facilities  for  the  best  growth  of  peas,  if  I  were 
farming  in  this  region,  I  should  much  prefer  pea-fallow  to  clover-fallow  to 
precede  wheat." 

The  greater  part  of  the  pea  crop  so  produced  with  corn  is 
fed  off  by  hogs  on  the  ground  in  the  fall  and  winter  following, 


28  RESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

so  that  the  full  production  of  the  State  does  not  appear  in  the 
statistics. 

Sweet  potatoes  constitute  a  crop  having  peculiar  value  in  this 
climate.  In  1850  the  production  of  the  State  was  5,095,709 
bushels,  and  in  1860,  6,140,039  bushels.  The  sandy  pine  lands 
lead  off  in  this  crop,  several  of  these  counties  making  up 
from  200,000  to  300,000  bushels  each.  Proper  attention  has 
not  yet  been  given  to  the  early  shipment  of  sweet  potatoes 
northward.  With  the  rapidly  extending  consumption  of  the 
large  cities,  and  of  the  interior  towns  of  the  Northern  States, 
supplied  by  railroad  from  the  seaports,  this  will  become  a 
staple  export  and  source  of  profit.  A  large  share  of  such  pro- 
duce can  come  cheaply  to  Norfolk,  there  connecting  with  the 
trade  in  other  market  garden  products.  It  is  a  noticeable 
fact  that  the  mountain  counties  of  the  western  border  produce 
sweet  potatoes  in  considerable  quantity.  In  1860  ten  of  these 
counties  produced  no  less  than  109,000  bushels,  no  one  of 
them  being  without  some  small  quantity. 

Irish  potatoes  are  grown  to  a  smaller  extent,  the  quantity 
being  but  one-eighth  of  the  sweet  potatoes,  or  830,565  bushels 
for  1860.  The  greatest  quantity  is  in  the  west,  but  they  are 
distributed  everywhere.  The  only  difference  caused  by  the 
climate  is  that  the  crop  grows  earlier  in  the  season  as  we  go 
southward.  It  may  be  eminently  profitable  as  an  early  garden 
crop,  to  put  in  the  northern  markets  by  the  early  part  of  June. 
It  is  customary  to  plant  them  in  December  for  the  earliest 
use,  which  is  in  May,  and  to  follow  with  later  plantings  for 
later  uses. 

Fruits,  Grapes,  Wine,  and  Market  Gardening. 

The  census  returns  of  orchard  products  are  again  our  best 
guide  to  the  valuable  fruit  growth  of  North  Carolina.  In  1860 
the  whole  value  of  these  was  $643,688,  a  sum  unexpectedly 
large.  Peaches  in  the  eastern  counties,  and  apples,  with  peaches, 
pears,  and  cherries,  in  the  central  counties  and  the  west,  make 
up  the  market  fruits.  The  apples  are  peculiarly  fine,  the  native 
varieties  doing  better  than  those  cultivated  at  the  North.  All 
the  counties  of  the  interior  lying  somewhat  elevated  above 
the  deeper  river  valleys,  are  very  favorable  to  orchard  fruits. 


RESOURCES   OF  NORTH   CAROLINA.  29 

Some  of  the  finest  fruits  known  south  of  New  York  are  of 
North  Carolina  origin,  and  native  seedlings  of  this  State  are 
conspicuous  for  size  and  fine  flavor.  Wilkes  and  Rutherford 
Counties,  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  Buncombe  County,  west 
o\  it,  are  celebrated  for  fine  apples  and  fine  cherries.  The 
requisites  for  fine  orchard  fruits  appear  to  be  more  fully  met 
in  the  climate  of  Western  North  Carolina,  indeed,  than  in  any 
part  of  the  country  south  of  New  York. 

Peaches  belong  more  particularly  to  the  eastward  counties, 
or  to  those  lower  than  the  best  localities  for  the  fruits  just 
referred  to.  The  uncertainty  of  "peach  seasons"  in  New 
Jersey,  Delaware,  and  Maryland  renders  it  important  to  extend 
their  growth  to  warmer  localities,  and  now  attention  is  being 
directed  to  the  belt  from  North  Carolina  to  Georgia,  corres- 
ponding in  position  relatively  to  the  sea  on  one  side  and  to  the 
inland  districts  on  the  other,  which  the  northern  peach  region 
has.  Heretofore,  so  little  attention  has  been  given  to  planting 
out  largely  that  the  capacity  of  the  section  has  not  been 
proved.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  it  has  great  capacity,  how- 
ever. The  peach  tree  is  almost  indigenous  here;  it  comes 
early,  and  grows  to  great  size.  The  only  question  is  that  of 
transportation,  but  with  care  in  packing  it  should  be  practica- 
ble to  ship  from  Wilmington,  Newbern,  or  Norfolk  with 
dispatch  and  safety.  As  the  season  is  a  full  month  earlier 
than  that  of  ripening  in  Delaware,  the  question  of  competition 
is  not  in  the  way.  Cheap  and  safe  transportation  has  already 
been  provided  through  a  semi-weekly  line  of  steamers  from 
Wilmington  to  New  York,  which  can  put  any  such  products 
in  market  in  fifty  hours,  while  by  railroad  only  thirty-six 
hours'  time  is  required. 

Wine  is,  as  the  census  of  1860  shows,  a  standard  product 
of  North  Carolina.  Three  leading  American  grapes  have 
their  origin  here — the  Scuppernong,  the  Catawba  and  the 
Lenoir.  From  the  Scuppernong  grape  chiefly,  54,064  gallons 
of  wine  are  reported  to  have  been  made  in  1860,  the  larger 
quantity  in  the  low  eastern  counties,  but  with  a  surprising 
distribution  of  small  quantities  in  every  part  of  the  State. 

First,  the  Scuppernong  grape  is  the  most  extraordinary 
plant  of  its  class  in  the  world.     It  is  identified  chiefly  with 


30  RESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

the  Albemarle  and  Pamlico  districts,  where  it  is  a  native, 
growing  wild  in  many  localities.  The  vine  is  capable  of 
making  an  enormous  growth,  covering  half  an  acre,  almost, 
if  the  fertility  of  the  soil  and  other  circumstances  favor.  It 
need  "not  be  trimmed  or  cut  back,  but  must  be  allowed  to 
grow  over  a  large  space,  its  production  being  in  proportion 
to  its  size.  Large  vines  will  form  a  canopy  covering  thou- 
sands of  square  feet,  and  the  production  of  one  vine  may  s 
reach  50  bushels  of  grapes.  They  are  round,  of  a  rusty  white 
color,  a  thick  skin  and  a  sweet  pleasant  juice.  The  wine  is 
considered  especially  fine  by  most  persons,  and  it  has  long 
been  made  in  considerable  quantity  in  many  of  the  eastern 
counties  for  the  local  use  of  the  people.  It  would  warrant 
cultivation  for  export,  as  well  on  account  of  its  quality,  as 
for  the  facility  with  which  the  grapes  may  be  grown  to  any 
extent.  Though  totally  unlike  any  European  grape,  since 
the  vines,  instead  of  being  cut  short  and  multiplied  in  number 
on  the  surface,  grow  so  large  that  a  single  plant  will  cover 
2000  to  5000  square  feet,  the  Scuppernong  is  an  unfailing 
bearer,  and  instead  of  a  half  dozen  or  a  dozen  bunches  con- 
stituting the  growth  of  a  year,  as  many  bushels  may  be 
gathered.  There  is  no  bunch  to  this  grape,  the  fruit  being 
formed  two  or  three  berries,  at  most,  together,  but  the  size  of 
these  is  equivalent  to  many  more  of  the  common  or  European 
grapes. 

This  picturesque  and  peculiar  vine  is  first  met  with  in 
North  Carolina.  It  will  scarcely  grow  at  Norfolk,  and  not  at 
all  in  States  further  north.  It  is  a  singular  anomaly  in  grape 
cultivation,  and  the  only  known  wine  grape  of  the  giant 
North  American  wild  species. 

The  Catawba  is  the  most  important  grape  of  general  culti- 
vation in  every  part  of  the  United  States  where  grapes  will 
grow  at  all.  It  is  the  favorite  on  Lake  Erie  as  well  as  in  its 
native  district  of  Western  North  Carolina.  Major  Adlum,  of 
Georgetown,  D.  C,  through  whose  efforts  it  was  originally 
brought  into  notice,  "  thought  that  he  had  conferred  a  greater 
boon  upon  the  American  people  by  its  introduction  than  if 
he  had  paid  the  national  debt."  Though  this  was  spoken 
when  the  debt  was  less  than  now,  it  is  a  fair  illustration  of 


RESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  31 

the  universal  acceptance  of  the  Catawba  grape  as  the  finest 
among  cultivated  varieties.  The  Catawba  is  claimed  to  be  a 
native  of  Buncombe  County,  and  the  Lincoln,  or  Lenoir,  is  a 
native  of  Lincoln  County.  The  Isabella  grape  is  often  ac- 
credited to  Western  North  Carolina  as  its  place  of  origin.  Uni- 
versally cultivated  as  it  is,  it  is  certain  that  its  best  growth  is 
in  the  elevated  lands  of  the  Southern  States.  Another  valu- 
able grape,  which  is  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  is  the  Lenoir, 
just  referred  to,  promising  much  as  a  wine  grape ;  and  still 
another  new  one  is  called  the  North  Carolina  Seedling.  All 
observers  are  struck  by  the  evidences  which  most  parts  of 
both  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  afford,  of  the  great  adap- 
tation they  have  to  the  growth  of  grape-vines,  wild  or  culti- 
vated. In  the  low  country  the  gigantic  Scuppernong  grape 
is  without  a  parallel  in  the  world  for  magnitude  of  growth, 
and  abundance  of  production.  "Writers  have  even  declared 
that  no  plant  known  produces  so  much  for  the  uses  of  man, 
as  a  full  grown  vine  of  this  Scuppernong  grape.  A  gentle- 
man of  Mississippi  writes  to  the  Gardener's  Monthly  in  1868, 
styling  it  "  the  grape  of  America."     He  says : — 

"  This  most  wonderful  grape  was  first  brought  to  notice  by  Col.  James 
Blount,  of  Scuppernong,  North  Carolina,  who  found  it  growing  wild  on  the 
banks  of  the  Scuppernong  River.  The  name  was  given  by  Calvin  Jones, 
of  the  Southern  Planter,  in  which  paper  Col.  Blount  presented  it  to  the 
public,  in  several  well  written  articles.  It  is  also  said  that  an  Episcopal 
clergyman,  grandfather  to  Gen.  Eettigrew,  very  highly  recommended  it 
to  the  Southern  people.  It  is  now  generally  known,  and  universally 
esteemed  by  all  grape-growers  of  the  South,  and  it  is  destined  to  revolu- 
tionize grape-growing  and  wine-making  throughout  America.  It  grows 
in  small  bunches,  of  four  to  ten  berries,  of  large  size,  juicy,  round,  sweet, 
luscious,  rich  flavored.  Skin  very  thick,  light  green,  marked  sometimes 
with  yellow  dots  ;  tough,  bears  handling,  keeps  well,  excellent  for  wine. 
.  .  There  are  three  varieties,  white,  black,  and  golden-hued.  The  white 
is  the  native,  and  the  one  generally  known  :  it  makes  an  amber-colored 
wine.  The  black  ripens  after  the  white  is  gathered,  and  makes  a  darker 
wine,  though  there  is  no  difference  in  the  taste  of  tbe  fruit.  It  remains  on 
the  vine  till  after  frost,  and  will  sometimes  keep  till  after  Christmas.  The 
white  berries  are  gathered  by  shaking  the  vine  ;  the  black  must  be  picked. 
.  .  .  .  It  is  immensely  productive,  surpassing  all  others  in  its  most  fabu- 
lous yield  ;  a  single  vine  often  producing  annually  from  25  to  50  bushels 
of  grapes.  One  vine  in  this  county  is  said  to  have  yielded  over  50  bushels 
this  last  year  (1867).  Dr.  Neisler,  of  Georgia,  has  one  averaging  35  bushels. 
There  is  one  at  Mobile  averaging  40  bushels,  bringing  its  owner  over 


32  RESOURCES   OF  NORTH   CAROLINA. 

$300.  Col.  Ross,  of  Georgia,  writes  that  lie  has  a  vine,  thirty  years  old, 
that  yields  annually  from  35  to  75  gallons  of  wine.  There  is  one  near 
Somerville,  Tenn.,  producing  fruit  enough  for  a  small  family,  and  making 
a  barrel  of  wine  besides.  Two  vines  are  ordinarily  considered  enough,  in 
North  Carolina,  for  an  ordinary  sized  family.  Mr.  Van  Buren  estimates 
that  100  vines  planted  on  three  acre*  of  land  will  yield  every  year  after 
maturity  5250  gallons,  or  1750  gallons  per  acre.  Mr.  W.  F.  Stevenson 
says  that  this  estimate  is  entirely  too  low — that  100  vines  will  yield  twice 
as  many  gallons  at  ten  years  of'  age,  and  three  or  four  times  as  much  as 

they  grow  older The  Scuppernong  never  fails  to  bear ;  never 

mildews  ;  never  rots,  and  is  seldom  troubled  by  frost.  There  are  but  few 
fruit  trees,  if  any,  known  to  live  half  so  long  as  the  Scuppernong.  Its 
native  region  is  a  level,  dry,  sandy  open  soil ;  though  it  is  also  found  in 
abundance  in  pine  barrens  and  along  hill-sides,  near  the  Tar,  Neuse, 
Roanoke,  and  Cape  Fear  Rivers.  It  will  flourish  in  alluvial  bottoms  aa 
well  as  in  sandy  plains.  Thousands  of  acres  in  the  South  can  be  planted 
■with  it ;  indeed,  it  will  grow  anywhere  that  corn  and  cotton  will  grow, 
and  is  ten  times  as  profitable  as  either.  An  acre  that  will  grow  30  bushels 
of  corn  will  yield  300  bushels  of  Scuppernong  grapes.  .  .  .  The  celebrated 
chemist,  Dr.  Jackson,  of  Boston,  analyzed  38  of  the  best  wine  grapes  of 
America,  and  he  says,  '  Scuppernong  wine  may  be  made  so  fine  as  to 
excel  all  others  made  on  this  continent.'  The  white  variety  makes  a 
beautiful,  pale,  amber-colored  wine  ;  sweet,  rich,  luscious,  and  fragrant, 
everywhere  the  ladies'  favorite  :  so  says  the  President  of  the  Memphis  and 
Little  Rock  Railroad,  who  has  been  familiar  with  it  for  many  years.  .  .  . 
It  is  the  Poor  Man's  Friend — and  it  richly  deserves  this  appellation,  be- 
because  it  needs  no  pruning  nor  training,  nor  placing  vines  along  trellis 
work ;  because  it  never  mildews  nor  rots,  and  never  fails  to  produce  an 
abundant  crop." 

J.  M.  D.  Miller,  of  Iuka,  Miss., 

in  Oard.  Monthly,  March,  1868. 

This  enthusiastic  tribute  may  appear  extravagant  to  those 
who  have  never  seen  a  full-grown  vine  in  bearing,  but  by 
those  who  have,  and  who  have  used  the  wine,  no  exaggera- 
tion will  be  charged. 

Garden  Products. 

Market  garden  products  attain  to  respectable  proportions  in 
the  census  reports  of  North  Carolina,  being  for  1860,  $75,663 
in  value.  For  many  varieties  no  return  is  made,  and  un- 
doubtedly a  small  portion  only  is  included  in  the  values 
above.  The  item  is  valuable  only  as  showing  that  some 
counties  attain  to  $15,000  in  value  for  what  should  be,  and 
probably  already  is  approaching  $50,000  for  each  county  of 


RESOURCES   OF   NORTH   CAROLINA.  33 

the  more  accessible  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State.  Unfor- 
tunately we  have  no  recent  report  of  this  cultivation,  and 
only  know  that  in  many  spots  the  work  of  market  garden 
cultivation  has  been  energetically  and  profitably  begun. 

The  Ground  Pea,  or  Pea-Nut. 

A  novel  crop  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State  is  the  ground 
pea,  or  pea-nut,  the  cultivation  of  which  is  very  profitable  on 
the  light  lands  near  the  coast.  For  many  years  past  these 
pea-nuts  have  been  the  preference  in  the  northern  markets, 
and  large  quantities  are  sent  there.  The  chief  production  is 
in  the  counties  near  "Wilmington,  and  at  that  city  a  constant 
shipping  market  has  existed  for  several  years  past.  The 
average  quantity  shipped  for  several  years  up  to  1861  was 
about  200,000  bushels.  During  the  war  of  course  they  were 
not  grown  for  shipment  outward,  but  the  trade  is  now  reviv- 
ing, and  nearly  restored  to  its  best  proportions. 

Onslow  County,  about  fifty  miles  northeast  of  "Wilmington, 
reported  in  1867  to  the  agricultural  department  that  the 
growth  of  ground-nuts,  or  pea-nuts,  was  the  farming  specialty, 
and  that  the  crop  grown  was  50  to  90  bushels  per  acre,  and 
the  value  $2  25  to  $2  50  per  bushel.  The  light  soil  of  the 
low  pine  lands  is  particularly  adapted  to  this  crop,  and  at  the 
production  and  prices  reported  above,  it  is  very  remunera- 
tive. The  cultivated  pea-nuts  of  the  coast,  from  Virginia 
southward,  and  particularly  those  obtained  at  Wilmington, 
are  far  superior  to  those  imported  from  Africa  and  other  for- 
eign countries. 


34  RESOURCES    OF   NORTH   CAROLINA. 

MINERAL  RESOURCES  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

The  extent  of  the  mineral  resources  of  all  the  States  of  the 
seaboard  south  of  Delaware  has,  for  years  past,  been  much 
undervalued  in  consequence  of  the  delay  in  developing  them. 
While  the  reputation  of  North  Carolina  and  Georgia  has  been 
very  well  known  in  the  production  of  gold,  there  has  been  no 
proper  credit  given  for  the  more  useful  minerals,  and  particu- 
larly for  coal  and  iron.  It  may  be  a  subject  of  surprise  to 
claim  much  merit  for  North  Carolina  coal  fields, (vet  the  prin- 
cipal locality,  on  the  Deep  and  Cape  Fear  Rivers,  covers  an 
area  of  forty  square  miles  in  Chatham  and  Moore  Counties,  in 
which  there  is  a  most  extensive  bed  of  the  best  bituminous 
coal  in  the  world.  ^The  superior  character  of  this  coal  has 
been  vouched  for  in  an  official  report  by  Admiral  Wilkes  to 
the  Navy  Department  in  1859,  and  by  Prof.  Emmons,  in  his 
general  geological  report  for  the  State.  Prof.  W.  C.  Kerr,  the 
present  State  geologist,  describes  these  coal  fields  as  follows  : — 

"  Coal  is  found  in  two  districts  in  North  Carolina,  known  as  the  Deep 
River  and  Dan  River  coal  fields.  In  both  the  coal  is  bituminous,  and 
occupies  a  narrow  tract  of  country  along  the  course  of  the  rivers  from  which 
they  respectively  take  their  names.  These  beds,  therefore,  follow  in  their 
outcrop  the  general  direction  of  the  rocks  of  the  country.  The  Dan  River 
bed  is  distant  from  market,  and  has  been  little  explored.  There  is  an  out- 
crop in  Rockingham  and  Stokes  Counties,  one  seam  being  four  feet  thick. 
The  Deep  River  bed  is  better  known,  and  probably  more  extensive.  It  is 
described  in  detail  in  the  geological  reports  of  Dr.  Emmons  for  1852  and 
1856 ;  and  also  by  Admiral  Wilkes,  in  his  report  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  in  1859.  According  to  these  authorities,  this  coal  is  of  the  best 
quality,  well  adapted  to  the  manufacture  of  iron  and  of  gas,  and  it  is  inex- 
haustible in  quantity.  They  represent  it  as  extending  over  an  area  of  more 
than  forty  square  miles,  and  containing  more  than  6,000,00.0  tons  to  each 
square  mile.  This  bed,  therefore,  would  yield  more  than  1,000,000  tons 
annually,  for  several  hundred  years." 

Other  writers  speak  in  even  higher  terms  of  these  coals, 
their  characteristic  being  a  very  dense,  heavy  and  rich  bitu- 
minous coal,  without  sulphur,  and  admirably  adapted  to  gas 
making.  It  has  been  said  for  years,  that  this  North  Carolina 
bed  from  Deep  to  Cape  Fear  Rivers,  would  ultimately  exceed 
in  value  that  at  Richmond,  Virginia,  with  which  its  position 
shows  a  general  similarity.  A  condensed  report  on  the  facility 
with  which  this  coal  can  be  mined  and  transported,  will  be 
found  in  the  Appendix. 


RESOURCES    OF    NORTH    CAROLINA.  35 

Iron  Ores  and  Iron  Works. 

,  There  are  various  localities  furnishing  unusually  good  iron 
ores  in  North  Carolina,  and  the  finest  wrought  iron  has  been 
made  there  in  small  quantities  since  colonial  times.  The  iron 
of  Lincoln  County  has  been  particularly  celebrated  for  its 
strength  and  toughness.  In  the  report  of  the  American  Iron 
Association  for  1859,  no  less  than  fifty-one  furnaces,  forges 
and  bloomaries  are  enumerated,  as  having  been  in  operation  at 
various  recent  periods,  about  one-half  of  them  being  at  that 
time  at  work.  Some  of  the  ore  beds  are  among  the  most 
promising  in  the  United  States,  and  that  in  Guilford  County, 
near  Greensboro,  is  just  now  being  put  in  operation,  making 
iron  with  ten  Catalan  forges,  a  steam  hammer  weighing  eight 
tons,  and  three  hundred  workmen.* 

The  accounts  given  of  the  iron  ore  beds  of  this  State  are 
here  condensed  from  Prof.  Emmons'  reports,  and  from  the 
reports  of  the  American  Iron  Association. 

Beginning  at  the  western  part  of  the  midland  counties,  or 
those  between  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  low  counties 
of  the  coast,  we  find  three  valuable  belts  of  magnetic  iron 
ore  ;  the  first  passing  within  six  or  seven  miles  of  Lincolnton, 
in  Lincoln  County,  on  the  Catawba. 

"The  beds  of  ore  are  seen  on  the  north  side  of  the  plank  road,  seven 
miles  from  Lincolnton.  The  limestone  is  a  mile  west  of  the  ore.  The  ore 
is  usually/  near  the  crest  of  a  ridge,  or  traverses  parallel  ridges  very 
obliquely.  .  .  The  veins  of  Lincoln  County  are  lens  shaped,  with  knife 
edges  lapping  each  other,  increasing  to  six  or  eight  feet  thick  in  a  length 
or  depth  of  fifty  or  sixty  feet.  .  .  The  ore  is  usually  fine  grained,  soft, 
easily  crushed  in  the  hands,  strongly  magnetic,  easily  smelted.  .  .  .  The 
veins  have  been  wrought  for  many  years,  and  have  made  a  celebrated  iron, 
strong  and  tough." 

This  ore  bed  extends  into  Gaston  County,  at  King's  Moun- 
tain, and  at  this  point  the  Briggs'  vein  is  forty  feet  thick. 

*  "Greensboro,  North  Carolina,  May  25th,  1869. 

The  North  Carolina  Central  Steel  and  Iron  Manufacturing  Company, 
in  this  county,  are  just  receiving  their  machinery.  The  ponderous  steam 
hammer  weighs  over  eight  tons.  The  Company  is  now  erecting  ten 
Catalan  forges,  and  will,  in  a  short  time  give  employment  to  three  or  four 
hundred  skilled  iron  workers,  the  most  of  whom  will  be  from  Pennsylva- 
nia."— Bulletin  of  the  American  Iron  and  Steel  Association,  May  26,  1869. 


36  RESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

Iron  has  been  made  here  for  half  a  century.  Beds  of  hema- 
tite ore  occur  on  both  King's  Mountain  and  Crowder's  Moun- 
tain, and  Prof.  Lesley  says  that  "the  resources  of  the  present 
veins  are  so  vast  that  no  inducement  is  held  out  to  active 
exploration."  Twelve  or  fifteen  furnaces  and  forges  have 
long  been  at  work  on  these  splendid  ore  banks;  and  in  one 
of  them  the  ore  contains  nickel,  this  ore  being  worked  by 
Columbia  furnace  and  forges.  In  Cleveland  County,  just 
west  of  Lincoln  and  Gaston,  six  forges  were  at  work  in  1859 
on  fine  magnetic  ores,  obtained  from  the  mountains  east  of 
and  near  the  First  Broad  Eiver.  (There  are  other  works  in 
Rutherford  County,  adjoining.  This  whole  district  is  rich 
almost  without  parallel  in  magnetic  and  hematite  ores  of 
the  best  quality.  / 

Next  are  the  belts  of  ore  in  and  near  the  valley  of  the 
Yadkin  River,  and  occurring  chiefly  in  Montgomery,  Ran- 
dolph, Davie,  Guilford,  Stokes,  and  Surrey  Counties.  Near 
Troy  there  are  some  fine  masses ;  one  occupies  a  low  hill  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  in  length,  and  fifty  feet  wide — a  fine,  heavy 
peroxide.  Beds  of  specular  and  of  magnetic  ore  lie  near 
each  other  north  of  Troy.  (Prof.  Lesley.)  These  are  near  the 
Carter  gold  mine.  "  Three  or  four  miles  southwest  of  Frank- 
linville,  and  near  Deep  River,  heavy  black  masses  of  mag- 
netic ore  lie  in  abundance  loose  about  the  uncultivated  sur- 
face, near  a  fine  ore  bed."  "  In  Stokes  County  four  bloomary 
forges,  within  ten  miles  around  Danville,  work  up  magnetic 
ore.  ...  A  magnetic  ore  bed,  one  mile  from  Danbury,  is  six 
feet  thick,  nearly  vertical,  strike  northeast;  percentage  of 
iron  77;  depth  of  shaft  fifty-seven  feet.  The  Dan  River  coal 
basin  is  within  ten  miles."  (Lesley.)  Some  of  these  works 
have  long  been  in  operation,  but  without  adequate  capital. 
In  Surrey  and  Yadkin  Counties,  near  the  localities  just  men- 
tioned, the  same  beds  are  found,  and  twelve  or  fifteen  forges 
have  at  various  times  been  in  operation.  In  Catawba  County, 
some  distance  southwest,  there  are  also  several  works,  and 
fine  magnetic  beds;  but  in  Guilford  County,  near  Greensboro, 
and  east  of  the  counties  last  above  named,  there  are  "several 
veins  of  black  and  middling  coarse,  valuable  magnetic  ore, 
unmixed  and  pure,  which  have  long  been  known."     This  is 


RESOURCES    OF   NORTH   CAROLINA.  37 

the  locality  of  the  extensive  new  works  just  referred  to,  and 
the  extraordinary  opportunity  offered  to  make  the  best  iron 
at  very  cheap  rates,  might  be  much  more  largely  improved. 

The  third  belt  of  what  Lesley  calls  primary  iron  ores  is 
found  on  the  Neuse  and  Cape  Fear  Eivers,  in  Chatham,  John- 
ston, Wake,  and  Orange  Counties.  In  Chatham  County  is 
"  Ore  Hill,  a  famous  locality  of  hematite  ore,  traversing  a  knob 
three  hundred  feet  high  in  east  and  west  belts  of  talc  slate, 
quartz,  etc.,  forming  the  pinnacle  of  the  hill.  Here  old  excava- 
tions show  where,  in  the  times  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  the 
large  concretionary  masses  of  ore  were  extracted."  A  portion 
of  the  ore  of  Chatham  County  is  said  to  be  identical  with  the 
celebrated  Blackband  of  Scotland.  Various  extensive  beds 
of  hematite  ore  are  reported  in  the  other  counties  named,  and 
a  less  number  of  magnetic  ore  beds.  A  valuable  bed  of  car- 
bonate of  iron,  in  a  vein  containing  gold,  exists  on  the  TJw- 
harrie  River.  (Dr.  Emmons'  Kept.  1856.)  West  of  the  Blue 
Ridge  there  is  also  plenty  of  valuable  ore.  ISTo  less  than 
twenty  bloomaries  and  furnaces  have  been  established  in 
Ashe,  Wautauga,  and  Cherokee  Counties,  representing  both 
extremities  of  the  mountain  valley  region.  Some  of  the  ore 
beds  were  magnetic,  and  others  various  forms  of  hematite. 

Altogether,  although  the  quantity  of  iron  made  in  any  one 
year  heretofore  has  not  been  large,  there  is  no  part  of  the 
Union  more  promising  for  the  establishment  of  works.  In 
1856  there  were  36  forges  at  work,  making  1182  tons  of 
blooms  ;  while  3  furnaces  made  of  charcoal  pig  iron  450  tons/ 
and  one  rolling-mill  only  was  at  work.  The  census  reports 
are  very  incomplete,  yet  they  return,  in  1850,  1200  tons  of 
bar  iron  made,  value  $127,819  ;  and  in  1860,  1096  tons,  value 
$99,656.  The  Briggs  Iron  Works,  and  two  other  mills  just 
below  King's  Mountain,  in  South  Carolina,  have  long  made 
excellent  bar  iron  for  use  in  the  counties  adjoining. 

The  following  account  of  the  iron  ore  beds  of  the  western 
counties  is  from  Prof.  Kerr's  report  of  1866,  and  it  is  so  clear 
and  forcible  as  to  require  transcribing  in  full : — 


"  Iron  is  found  in  some  of  its  various  forms  of  ore  in  most  of  the  western 
counties,  but  its  most  important  localities  are  in  Cherokee  and  Mitchell. 
These  are  worthy  of  being  mentioned  with  the  Iron  Mountain  of  MissourL 
4 


38  RESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

The  ore  of  Cherokee  belongs  to  the  class  known  as  hematite.  It  occurs 
along  with  each  of  the  parallel  subdivisions  of  the  limestone,  sometimes  on 
both  sides  of  them.  It  outcrops  in  immense  masses  along  Notteley,  on 
Hiwassee  at  the  junction  of  Valley  Eiver,  on  Peachtree  Creek,  and  the 
whole  length  of  Valley  River,  an  aggregate  distance  of  twenty-five  miles. 
One  of  these  beds,  which  appears  on  Peachtree,  is  a  soft,  uncompacted 
brown  ochre,  which  has  been  mined  for  paint.  This  bed  is  well  developed 
in  the  upper  portion  of  the  valley  of  Valiey  River,  on  Paint  Creek,  and 
again  above  Valleytown.  The  ores  from  many  of  these  beds  have  been 
wrought  in  the  common  bloomaries  of  the  country  (of  which  there  were, 
perhaps,  half  a  dozen  in  the  county),  and  even  under  this  mode  of  treat- 
ment are  said  to  yield  a  large  percentage  of  metal  of  good  quality.  And 
those  beds  of  slaty  ore,  which  are  not  workable  in  such  open  forges,  would 
be  easily  smelted  in  a  blast  furnace. 

"It  is  apparent,  therefore,  that  there  exist  in  Cherokee  County  the  most 
favorable  conditions  for  the  manufacture  of  iron  on  an  indefinite  scale. 
Three  large  rivers  flow  along  and  over  the  edges  of  these  iron  mountains, 
furnishing  unlimited  power,  and  at  all  points ;  the  ore  is  interstratified  with 
limestone  for  fluxing  ;  and  the  neighboring  mountain  slopes  abound  with 
fuel.  And  if  this  were  not  sufficient,  the  distance  is  only  twenty-five  miles 
to  the  State  line,  where  a  railroad  will  shortly  bring  mineral  fuel  from 
Chattanooga.  Nothing  is  wanting  but  transportation  to  develop  here  a 
manufacturing  interest  equal  to  any  on  the  continent. 

"  The  other  principal  iron  bed  is  that  of  Mitchell  County,  near  the  head  of 
Toe  River.  This  ore  is  found  in  the  gneissic  series  of  rocks,  and  is  mag- 
netic, or  gray  ore.  It  occurs  in  an  immense  bed  of  hornblende  slate  and 
syenite,  near  the  base  of  the  Yellow  Mountains  and  a  few  miles  from  the 
State  line.  The  outcrop  is  on  the  lower  slope  of  the  mountain,  perhaps 
200  feet  above  its  base,  and  reveals  a  network  of  heavy  'veins,'  or  beds, 
extending  over  several  acres  of  surface.  It  is  inexhaustible  in  quantity. 
The  iron  manufactured  in  the  bloomaries  of  the  neighborhood  has  been 
long  celebrated  for  its  tenacity  and  durability,  and  is  admirably  adapted  to 
the  manufacture  of  steel.  It  is  known  as  the  Cranberry  iron,  from  a  small 
stream  near  the  ore  banks.  Here,  also  exist  the  best  natural  facilities  for 
the  manufacture  of  iron.  Water  power  and  fuel  in  the  greatest  profusion 
are  at  hand,  and  the  only  difficulty  here,  too,  is  in  the  matter  of  transporta- 
tion, which,  however,  could  be  readily  overcome. 

"  Magnetic  ore  is  found  in  many  other  localities,  and  no  doubt  this  Cran- 
berry ore  will  be  discovered  in  other  outcrops  in  these  mountains.  Ore  of 
the  same  character  appears  at  the  western  base  of  the  mountain,  at  Flat 
Rock,  which  is  probably  a  continuation  of  the  same  series  of  beds.  Mag- 
netic ore  occurs  near  Marshall  also,  in  Madison  County,  and  again  near 
Fines  Creek,  in  Haywood ;  in  each  case,  having  the  same  association  of 
hornblendic  rocks.  It  is  also  found  in  Macon  County  at  several  points, 
here  in  a  garnetiferous  mica  schist.  Hematite  ore  occurs  at  one  or  two 
points  in  Buncombe,  and  a  bed  of  it  also  overlies  the  limestone  in  Transyl- 
vania County,  appearing  again  with  it  on  the  North  Fork  in  McDowell. 
This  association  with  limestone,  which  occurs  so  frequently,  is  not  acci- 
dental, but  points  to  the  origin  of  these  ores." 


EESOUECES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA  39 

Gold  Mines. 

/  North  Carolina  has  been  celebrated  for  half  a  century  as 
a  gold-mining  country,  and  the  reports  of  the  IT.  S.  Mint 
show  that  more  than  ten_jnillions  of  dollars'  worth  of 
gold  has  come  from  this  State  to  the  Mint  for  coinage. 
Previous  to  1869  there  had  been  coined  at  the  Branch  Mint 
at  Charlotte,  North  Carolina,  $4,520,730  of  North  Carolina 
gold,  and  at  the  IT.  S.  Mint  at  Philadelphia,  $4,666,026  of  the 
same  production.  These  items,  with  $147,756  assayed  at 
New  York,  and  $99,585  coined  at  Dahlonega,  represent  a 
known  addition  to  the  gold  coin  of  the  country  of  $9,434,097, 
while  it  is  probable  that  at  least  $2,500,000  in  value  passed 
into  use  in  the  arts,  was  sent  abroad,  or  was  retained  in  some 
way  from  the  mint.  Since  the  war  about  $400,000  in  gold 
has  been  received  at  the  Mint  and  Assay  offices  from  North 
Carolina,  the  amount  in  1868  being  about  $100,000.  In  1866 
it  was  over  $140,000.  The  gold  mines  of  the  State  are  all  in 
positions  of  very  ready  access,  and,  whatever  their  produc- 
tion may  be,  are  very  easily  and  cheaply  worked.  The 
quartz  veins,  and  other  gold-bearing  rocks,  are  all  up-tilted 
and  broken  down  by  the  great  geological  forces  which  swept 
over  the  State  east  of  the  Blue  Eidge.  They  all  stand  on 
edge  over  a  surface  generally  very  little  broken  up  into  hills 
or  mountains,  and,  with  good  machinery,  any  vein  promising 
a  fair  return,  should  be  worked  with  profit. 

The  principal  mines  are  west  of  the  centre  of  the  State, 
and  about  half  way  from  Raleigh  to  the  foot  of  the  Blue 
Eidge.  Cabarrus  County  is  distinguished  as  the  place  of 
original  discovery,  and  one  piece  of  pure  gold,  weighing 
twenty-eight  pounds,  was  found  there.  All  the  counties  of 
that  section  of  the  State,  which  is  drained  chiefly  by  the 
Yadkin  and  Catawba  Eivers,  abound  in  gold.  It  is  also 
found  as  far  east  as  Franklin  County,  north  of  Ealeigh.  Not 
only  are  all  the  primary  rock  formations  of  the  State  east  of 
the  Blue  Eidge  often  found  to  yield  gold,^but_the  mountain 
counties  west  of  the  Blue  Eidge  also  show  valuable  gold 
deposits.  Prof.  W.  C.  Kerr,  the  present  State  Geologist,  says 
in  his  report  for  1866,  that  Cherokee  and  Jackson  Counties, 


40  RESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

in  the   extreme  southwest,  showeold  freely  at  the  western 
foot  of  the  Blue  Eidge. 

"There  are  two  principal  gold  regions  in  the  mountain  section,  one  in 
Cherokee,  and  the  other  in  Jackson.  The  gold  helt  of  Cherokee  is  in  the 
same  body  of  slates  which  carries  the  limestone  and  iron.  It  is  found 
both  in  the  veins  and  in  superficial  deposits.  The  sands  of  Valley  River 
yield  it  profitably  through  a  large  part  of  its  course,  and  some  very  rich 
washings  have  been  found  along  its  tributary  streams  on  the  north  side. 
The  origin  of  this  gold  is  very  near  the  limestone.  A  remarkably  rich  vein 
has  been  opened  near  the  town  of  Murphy,  known  as  No.  6,  which  imme- 
diately underlies  the  marble.  This  is  a  silver-lead  quartz  vein,  in  which 
is  imbedded  a  large  percentage  of  free  gold.  There  is  a  strong  probability 
of  other  similar  veins  having  furnished  the  golden  sands  of  the  river  and 
streams  above  mentioned. 

"On  the  southeast  of  the  limestones  is  also  a  series  of  diggings  along 
the  lower  slopes  of  the  mountains  from  near  Valley  Town  to  Vengeance 
Creek,  a  distance  of  twelve  or  fifteen  miles.  The  gold  is  found  here  in 
the  drift  which  covers  the  lower  spurs  and  terminal  ridges  of  the  moun- 
tains south  of  Valley  Eiver.  .  .  .  The  continuation  of  this  gold  belt  south- 
westward  is  rendered  probable  by  the  existence  of  several  valuable  mines 
in  this  direction  beyond  the  Hiwassee,  as  the  Warren  mine  on  Brasstown 
Creek,  and  others  on  Notteley  River,  in  Georgia.  .  .  .  The  gold  of  Jack- 
son County  is  also  obtained  almost  entirely  from  washings.  .  .  .  The  most 
important  locality  is  Fairfield  Valley,  where  Georgetown  Creek,  one  of 
the  head  streams  of  the  Toxaway,  is  said  to  have  yielded  between 
$200,000  and  $300,000.     The  deposits  extend  several  miles." 

The  latest  Geological  Eeport  of  Professor  Kerr,  which 
has  just  been  issued,  May,  1869,  has  an  interesting  descrip- 
tion of  the  gold  producing  districts  of  the  east  side  of  the 
Blue  Eidge,  and  along  the  South  Mountains,  which  we  extract 
from  as  follows: — 

"In  the  Piedmont  section  there  are  three  gold  placers  of  considerable 
note.  One  of  these  is  at  Sandy  Plains  in  Polk  County.  The  gold  is  found 
in  the  gravel  from  the  debris  of  denuded  hills  of  mica  schist.  This  gravel 
is  found  in  the  beds  of  small  streams,  over  an  area  of  several  miles.  These 
diggings  are  still  wrought  in  a  small  way.  No  veins  have  been  discovered. 
The  most  extensive  and  notable  deposit  in  this  region,  and  in  the  State,  is 
found  in  the  South  Mountains  on  the  head  waters  of  the  First  and  Second 
Broad,  and  of  Silver  and  Muddy  Creeks.  It  is  divided  into  four  principal 
districts,  on  the  above  mentioned  streams,  which  are  named  respectively 
Whiteside,  Jeanstown,  Brindletown,  and  Brackettown.  The  whole  area 
occupied,  interruptedly,  by  this  deposit,  is  between  one  and  two  hundred 
square  miles.  These  mines  were  opened  about  the  year  1880,  and  were 
operated  on  a  large  scale,  but  in  a  rude  way,  until  the  discovery  of  the  Cali- 
fornia mines.    Some  thousands  of  laborers  were  at  work  here  for  a  number  of 


RESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  41 

years,  and  no  doubt  several  millions  of  gold  were  obtained.  Work  is  still 
carried  on  at  a  great  many  points,  and  several  thousands  of  dollars  are 
annually  mined.  The  deposits  were  originally  very  rich,  and  yielded  fre- 
quently ten  dollars  a  day  for  each  laborer.  The  gold  bearing  drift  or  gravel 
is  accumulated  along  the  beds  of  the  streams,  on  the  benches  of  the  hills, 
and  in  all  the  various  situations  which  have,  in  California,  given  rise  to 
the  division  into  river,  hill,  bench,  flat,  and  gulch  diggings.  Some  of  the 
deposits  on  the  larger  streams  are  quite  extensive,  and  of  considerable 
depth.  Many  of  them  have  been  worked  over  several  times.  The  pro- 
cesses heretofore  employed  were  of  the  rudest  kind,  and  no  doubt  the  in- 
troduction of  the  improved  California  methods  would  render  the  mines 
again  very  profitable.  Many  of  the  hill  and  bench  deposits  have  never 
been  worked,  and  could  not  be  except  by  the  hydraulic  process.  The  gold 
of  these  placers  has  evidently  been  derived  from  the  numerous  small  veins 
in  the  slopes  of  the  adjacent  hills  and  mountains.  The  gangue  of  these 
veins  is  usually  a  granular  white  quartz  (saccharoid).  They  are  small,  and 
have  not  been  mined  hitherto.  Machinery  has  been  put  up,  however,  near 
Brackettown  for  the  purpose  of  working  one  of  these  saccharoidal  veins, 
which  seems  to  be  nearly  a  foot  in  thickness. 

"  The  third  gold  field  referred  to  is  in  Caldwell  County,  on  Lower  Creek. 
Operations  have  been  carried  on  here  on  a  considerable  scale  on  both  sides 
of  the  creek,  but  mostly  on  the  north  side,  along  the  beds  of  the  tributary 
streams  which  come  clown  from  the  terminal  spurs  and  ridges  of  the  "Warrior 

Mountains,  dividing  the  waters  of  Lower  Creek  from  John's  Eiver 

There  are  many  other  places  where  gold  has  been  obtained  from  gravel  in 
considerable  amounts,  as  in  the  beds  of  some  small  streams  on  the  slopes 
of  the  hills  three  to  four  miles  west  of  Morganton,  where  gold  washing  is 
still  carried  on  profitably  ;  also  in  the  waters  of  the  Second  Broad,  in 
Butherford  ;  on  Pacolet  Biver,  in  Polk  County,  and  in  several  parts  of 
Cleveland  and  Lincoln  Counties. 

"The  Shuford  mine  in  the  eastern  part  of  Catawba,  which  contains  both 
placers  and  veins,  is  situated  in  the  King's  Mountain  belt.  It  has  been 
worked  for  a  number  of  years  with  very  satisfactory  results,  and  operations 
are  to  be  resumed  shortly.  These  are  dry  diggings,  and  the  difficulty  is  in 
procuring  a  supply  of  water.  Vein  mining  has  never  been  extensively 
carried  on  in  this  region.  The  Mountain  Mining  Company  were  erecting 
machinery  during  last  summer  to  operate  the  quartz  vein  already  mentioned, 
and  were  about  to  reopen  a  mine  some  four  miles  south  of  Shelby  which 
is  neither  a  vein  nor  a  placer  mine.  The  gold-bearing  rock  is  a  heavy 
ledge  of  brown,  ferruginous  mica-schist,  which  is  impregnated  with  iron 
pyrites  in  a  state  of  minute  subdivision,  and  abounds  in  garnets.  There 
is  no  semblance  of  a  vein  proper.  Dr.  Emmons  reports  that  gold  is  found 
in  the  conglomerates  of  Montgomery,  and  the  very  intelligent  superinten- 
dent of  the  Bhodes  mine  in  Lincoln  assured  me  that  he  obtained  gold  from 
the  common  gray  gneiss  of  the  country,  which  constitutes  the  wall  rock  of 
that  vein  ;  and  at  the  King's  Mountain  in  Gaston,  large  quantities  of  the 
limestone  are  stamped  and  washed.  And  I  have  seen  gold-bearing  fels- 
pathic  slates  from  Moore  County,  and  talco-quartzose  slates  from  Mont- 
gomery ;  so  that,  although  the  gangue  rock  of  gold  in  this  State  is  usually 


42  RESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

quartz,  compact,  or  saccharoidal,  it  is  far  from  being  universally  so,  nor  is 
the  occurrence  of  these  auriferous  rocks  limited  to  veins. 

"  There  are  two  other  mines  in  the  Piedmont  section  that  are  worthy  of 
mention,  the  Baker  (or  Davis),  and  the  Michaux,  both  on  John's  River, 
near  the  Caldwell  and  Burke  line.  The  latter  has  yielded  some  very  fine 
cabinet  specimens,  the  veins  being  numerous,  small,  and  in  places  very 
rich If  we  pass  beyond  the  Piedmont  group  into  the  King's  Moun- 
tain slates,  there  are  many  famous  gold  mines  along  this  formation,  and  in 
the  gneissic  rocks  between  it  and  the  Lower  Catawba  ;  several  of  which 
have  lately  been  reopened  under  favorable  auspices  ;  the  King's  Mountain 
mine,  the  Rhodes,  Beattie,  and  two  or  three  others.  These  are  now  ope- 
rated by  companies  and  under  superintendents  of  California  experience,  in 
several  cases,  with  the  most  improved  California  machinery,  manufactured 
in  San  Francisco.  From  these  facts,  and  especially  from  the  superior 
engineering  skill  which  is  now  employed  in  these  and  several  other  such 
enterprises  of  the  Mountain  Mining  Company,  I  infer  that  a  new  era  is 
opening  upon  the  mining  interests  of  one  State." 

But  the  most  celebrated  gold  mines  are  in  Cabarrus  County, 
particularly  the  Reed  mine,  discovered  in  1799,  and  from 
which  more  than  a  dozen  nuggets,  weighing  together  more 
than  120  pounds,  have  been  taken  at  different  times.  The 
best  of  these  mines  are  veins  of  q  uartz,  or  of  slaty  veinstone, 
with  iron  and  copper  pyrites  associated.  Many  of  these 
veins  are  as  promising  as  those  of  California  or  Colorado,  and 
if  worked  by  powerful  machinery,  would,  in  the  opinion  of 
most  persons  who  have  compared  them,  yield  better  than 
those  celebrated  districts  of  the  Pacific  coast.  Quartz  crush- 
ing machinery  has  been  but  little  tried,  however,  the  people 
having  heretofore  passed  these  rich  districts  by  to  waste  their 
energies  on  a  more  distant  field.  A  great  deal  of  successful 
placer  or  surface  mining  has  been  done  in  Burke  and  other 
counties  at  the  eastern  part  of  the  Blue  Eidge.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  more  than  a  million  of  dollars  has  been  so  obtain- 
ed in  Burke  County  alone.  It  is  a  peculiarity  of  most  of  the 
previous  washing  of  sands  in  search  of  gold  in  North  Caro- 
lina, that  only  the  rudest  processes  were  employed,  and  not 
only  was  the  separation  of  the  gold  imperfect  in  such  as  was 
washed,  but  much  rich  material  has  been  left  untouched. 

It  will  be  an  inviting  field  to  an  Eastern  or  Northern  man 
who  would  like  to  try  gold  mining  without  going  to  California, 
to  buy  a  tract  in  this  tempting  region,  and  while  he  prosecutes 


RESOURCES   OF   NORTH   CAROLINA.  43 

farming  or  any  other  business  as  a  general  pursuit,  try  his 
hand  at  leisure  times  in  obtaining  gold  from  his  own  lands. 
Some  of  the  best  and  most  profitable  of  gold  mining  in  the 
State,  heretofore  has  been  conducted  by  thrifty  farmers  in  the 
intervals  of  other  employment.  The  present  writer  has  per- 
sonally seen  several  who  have  thus  saved  money,  and  who 
were,  at  the  time,  travelling  in  the  Northern  States,  and  de- 
signing still  to  return  and  continue  the  double  employment 
by  which  their  wealth  had  been  acquired. 

We  would  be  able  to  give  a  more  complete  directory  to 
the  gold  mines  and  gold-producing  localities,  were  the  written 
accounts  heretofore  published  as  definite  as  they  should 
be.  The  best  way  is  to  go  to  Salisbury,  a  town  of  easy 
access  by  the  North  Carolina  Eailroad  from  Ealeigh  by  way 
of  Greensboro  ;  and  on  reaching  Salisbury,  make  examina- 
tions, first  in  Cabarrus,  Stanly  and  Anson  Counties,  for  vein 
mining ;  next  westward  to  Burke  County  for  the  surface 
"  diggings,"  and  also  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge,  if  possible,  to 
the  washings  at  the  western  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  in  the 
extreme  southwest,  before  described.  The  North  Carolina 
Railroad  is  being  rapidly  extended  in  the  direction  of  the 
passage  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  at  Swannanoa  Gap,  and  the  road 
to  Asheville  by  way  of  this  gap  is  not  at  all  difficult. 

There  are  valuable  and  interesting  mines  of  gold  and 
copper  near  Greensboro,  also,  which  are  described  in  the  list 
of  vein  mines. 

The  annual  production  of  gold  in  North  Carolina  is  now, 
probably,  about  twice  the  value  of  that  which  reaches  the 
mint.  This  amount  sent  to  the  mint  was,  in  1868,  $89,805  in 
value.  While  it  may  be  much  more,  it  cannot  be  less  than 
$180,000;  and  probably  a  better  estimate  would  be  about 
$250,000  as  the  present  annual  value  of  these  gold  mines. 
The  list  of  vein  gold  mines  on  page  47,  following,  will  give 
as  good  an  account  of  the  condition  of  that  branch  of  gold 
mining  in  the  States,  as  is  practicable  now  to  be  obtained. 


44  RESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

Silver  Mines. 

Silver  mining  is  of  sufficient  importance  in  several  counties 
to  justify  an  allusion  to  it.  In  Davidson  County,  at  a  locality 
known  as  Sjlyer  Hill,  the ;  Washington __  mine  is  the  most 
valuable  of  these.  While  silver  was  in  demand  for  coinage, 
a  small  annual  product  came  to  the  mint  from  North  Caro- 
lina ;  the  whole  in  three  years  1859  to  1861,  reaching  $41,888. 
But  four  times  as  much  would  go  into  use  in  the  arts,  even 
then,  and  now  it  all  takes  that  direction. 

Silver  is  found  here,  as  elsewhere,  in  combination  with 
various  other  metals;  with  gold,  copper,  lead  and  zinc.  .The 
silver-bearing  rocks  are  the  slates  at  their  line  of  contact 
with  the  granite,  and  along  the  line  of  this  contact,  both 
northeast  and  southwest  from  the  Davidson  County  mines, 
there  are  many  localities  where  silver  is.  found.)  The  prin- 
cipal mines  southwestward  are  the  Conrad,  McMakin,  and 
Stewart  mines.  Prof.  Kerr's  references  to  these  mines  are  so 
clear  and  brief  that  we  reproduce  them.  In  the  report  of 
1866  he  says  : — 

"  Silver. — It  will  be  observed  tbat  the  richest  gold  mines  lie  along  and 
near  the  line  of  contact  of  the  slates  and  granite.  And  it  is  also  along  this 
line  that  the  principal  silver  mines  of  this  State  are  found.  The  most  noted 
of  these  are  at  Silver  Hill,  in  Davidson  County.  The  combination  of 
metal  here  is  quite  complex,  including,  with  the  silver,  gold,  lead,  copper 
and  zinc.  A  chain  of  similar  mines  runs  southwest  along  the  western 
border  of  the  States,  including  the  McMakin  and  Stewart  mines.  During 
the  war  the  first  named  of  these  mines  yielded  a  considerable  quantity  of 
lead.  It  had  been  previously  worked  chiefly  for  silver  and  gold.  The 
same  association  of  metals  occurs  in  Cherokee." 

Also  in  the  report  of  Prof.  Kerr  just  published  (1869)  the 
following  reference  is  made  : — 

"  Silver  and  Lead. — These  two  metals  are  associated  in  their  ores  in 
this  State.  On  the  north  slope  of  the  Beech  Mountain  in  Watauga 
County,  on  the  waters  of  Watauga  River  at  two  points  galena  has 
lately  been  discovered  which  is  rich  in  silver.  .  .  A  similar  outcrop  of 
galena  was  found  a  number  of  years  ago  at  Flint  Knob,  in  Wilkes  County. 
The  ore  is  of  good  quality,  containing  both  gold  and  silver ;  but  no  ex- 
posure of  the  vein  has  been  effected,  from  which  a  reasonable  conclusion 
can  be  drawn  as  to  its  extent  and  value.  The  ore,  so  far  as  exposed,  is  in 
a  coarse  slaty  gneiss." 


RESOURCES    OF    NORTH    CAROLINA.  45 

Copper. 

Ores  of  copper  are  very  frequently  found  in  almost  all  parts 
of  the  State,  and  at  some  points  they  have  been  mined  very 
successfully.  A  few  years  since  quite  a  fever  of  speculation 
raged  in  regaxd_lo  copper  mines,  and  in  the  pursuit  of  the 
mineral  gossan,  which  is  supposed  to  indicate  the  locality  of 
veins»of  ores.  This  gossan  is  a  showy  sulphuret  of  iron,  or 
iron  pyrites,  found  on  the  surface  after  the  decomposition  and 
waste  of  copper  veins,  and  from  which  no  metal  can  be  ex- 
tracted. The  ore  is  alwaj^s  in  the  vicinity,  however,  and  can 
be  worked  with  profit  when  opened.  Prof.  Kerr,  in  1866, 
says : — 

"  I  am  not  aware  of  the  existence  of  copper  in  the  mountain  section, 
except  in  what  I  have  called  the  Jackson  belt ;  because  it  is  in  this  county 
that  the  formation  receives  its  principal  development,  although  it  crosses 
the  whole  breadth  of  the  State,  and  has  yielded  copper  at  several  points  in 
Macon,  on  one  side,  and  Hayward,  on  the  other.  .  .  .  The  copper  belt 
occupies  the  whole  middle  portion  of  Jackson  County,  from  the  head-waters 
of  Tuckasegee  River,  northward  to  Scott's  and  Savannah  Creeks,  and 
probably  several  miles  beyond.  .  .  .  Many  of  the  deposits  are  of  the  most 
promising  character,  and  the  veins  are  of  unusual  size.  The  principal 
points  where  mining  has  been  carried  on  are  Cullowhee,  Waryhut,  and 
Savannah ;  although  work  has  been  done,  and  symptoms  of  the  presence 
of  copper  discovered  at  many  other  places — as  at  Shell  Ridge,  Scott's 
Creek,  Sugar  Loaf,  Panther  Knob,  Wolf  Creek,  etc.  The  great  Cullo- 
whee, where  the  best  exposure.has  been  made,  is  eight  or  nine  feet  thick  ; 
at  Waryhut,  five  or  six  feet ;  at  Savannah,  where  there  are  several  veins 
or  beds  of  ore,  the  largest  which  has  been  opened  is  nine  or  ten  feet.  In 
several  of  the  above  localities  copper  was  found  within  a  few  feet  of  the 
surface.  The  outcrop,  in  all  cases,  is  the  mineral  known  among  miners 
as  gossan — really  an  ore  of  iron,  resulting  from  the  weathering  and  decom- 
position of  the  exposed  ore,  which  is  yellow  copper,  or  copper  pyrites.  .  .  . 
These  copper  deposits  will,  no  doubt,  under  a  judicious  system  of  mining, 
give  rise  to  many  valuable  mines." 

Many  of  the  gold  mines  first  worked  were  abandoned  be- 
cause of  the  greater  abundance  of  copper  pyrites  than  of  gold 
ores,  and  they  have  since  been  reopened  as  copper  mines. 
They  are,  therefore,  abundant  in  all  the  central  counties,  in 
Chatham,  Guilford,  Davidson,  Eowan,  Cabarrus,  and  Mecklen- 
burg. The  Greensboro  mines  are  valued  now  as  much  for 
copper  as  for  gold.  The  Gillis  mine,  in  Person  County,  on 
the  border  of  Virginia,  is  a  noted  copper  mine. 


46  RESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

"  The  three  most  noted  copper  mines  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the 
State  are  the  Elk  Knob,  Peach  Bottom,  and  Ore  Knob.  The  first  is  one 
of  the  most  promising  outcrops  of  copper  ore  in  the  State.  It  is  a  large 
vein  of  the  yellow  sulphuret  imbedded  in  the  most  extensive  body  of  horn- 
blendic  rocks  in  the  State.  The  vein  rock  is  a  dark-colored  micaceous 
quartzite,  nine  or  ten  feet  in  thickness.  It  is  situated  on  the  northern 
slope  of  the  mountain  from  which  it  is  named,  at  an  elevation  of  about  four 
thousand  feet.  .  .  .  The  Peach  Bottom  mine  is  situated  on  the  west 
side  of  the  mountain  range  of  that  name  in  Alleghany  County,  and  a  few 
miles  south  of  the  New  river.  This  mine  was  well  furnished  with  ma- 
chinery for  the  elevation  and  concentration  of  the  ore  ;  it  has  been  wrought 
to  a  depth  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  ...  A  portion  of  the  vein 
also  yields  lead.  Large  quantities  of  the  ore  were  sent  to  the  smelting 
works  at  Petersburg  during  the  war.  .  .  Ore  Knob  is  in  the  southeast 
part  of  Ashe  County,  quite  near  the  Blue  Ridge,  in  the  same  character  of 
rock  formations  as  the  last.  It  is  said  to  have  yielded  .several  thousand 
tons  of  ore  within  a  depth  of  60  or  70  feet.  The  vein  is  said  to  be  a  large 
one.  The  ore  is  '  yellow  copper,'  as  in  the  other  mines.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  all  these  mines  could  be  profitably  reopened,  but  for  the  difficulty  of 
transportation  to  market.  In  the  southeast  corner  of  Ashe  County  is 
another  mine  of  some  note,  known  as  Gap  Creek.  Dr.  Emmons  visited  it 
when  first  opened,  and  reports  that  at  '  a  depth  of  50  to  60  feet  the  ore  is 
vitreous,  which  will  probably  be  twice  as  rich  as  the  yellow  sulphuret.'  " 
(Prof.  Kerr,  1869.) 

The  results  of  copper  mining  heretofore  can  scarcely  be 
stated.  In  1860  the  county  of  Alleghany  reported  one  estab- 
lishment, employing  twenty  men  ;  and  Guilford  County  also 
reported  one,  with  a  capital  of  $60,000,  employing  180  men  and 
ten  women,  and  producing  copper  to  the  value  of  $100,000. 
The  aggregate  value  is  now  twice  what  it  was  in  1860,  and  a 
little  capital  employed  in  developing  the  present  mines  could 
be  richly  repaid.  This  form  of  the  ore  is  far  less  refractory 
in  reduction  than  most  others  in  Virginia,  and  the  States 
northward,  where  the  very  hardest  of  siate  veins  form  the 
copper-bearing  rocks,  lln  the  very  brief  list  of  copper  mines 
which  follows,  but  a  small  proportion  can  be  named,  and  it 
will  be  seen  that  almost  every  gold  mine  is  also  a  copper 
mine,  the  Gardner  mine  in  Guilford  County  being  a  con- 
spicuous instance. 


EESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  47 

LIST  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  GOLD,  SILVER,  AND  COPPER  MINES. 

Where  the  Gold  is  found  in  Quartz  Veins  and  Fissures. 

Conrad  Hill  Gold  Mine,  a  celebrated  mining  property,  both  for  gold  and  cop- 
per, is  in  the  north  part  of  Davidson  County,  six  miles  east  of  Lexington.  It 
is  a  low  hill,  very  easy  of  access,  the  gold  being  found  in  quartz  veins,  of  which 
six  have  been  identified.  The  gold  is  found  pure,  in  pockets,  and  in  the  quartz 
itself,  and  also  in  the  form  of  sulphurets.  Some  of  the  veins  now  show  copper 
largely,  and  may,  perhaps,  be  more  profitably  worked  for  copper  than  for  gold. 

Dodge  Hill  is  a  mining  property  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Conrad  Hill, 
having  the  same  formation,  and,  it  is  believed,  the  same  veins.  It  has  not  been 
worked  or  opened  so  fully,  but  is  certainly  a  valuable  deposit. 

Gold  Hill  Mine,  perhaps  the  most  celebrated  gold  mine,  is  located  on  the 
southern  border  of  Rowan  County,  14  miles  south  of  Salisbury.  It  had  pro- 
duced of  gold,  up  to  1856,  more  than  $2,000,000  ;  of  which  sum  $400,000  came 
from  a  vein  found  on  Troutman's  land,  and  worked  only  to  100  feet  in  depth. 
The  Honeycut  vein  yielded  over  §100,000 ;  and  the  Earnhardt  vein,  the  richest 
of  all,  yielded  nearly  $150,000  a  year  for  some  time  after  its  discovery.  The 
Barnhardt,  another  vein,  yielded  well  at  the  opening,  and  the  Randolph  pocket, 
as  it  was  called,  gave  splendid  specimens  of  native  gold.  Much  speculative 
management  at  one  time  took  place  in  regard  to  this  mine,  and  it  was  for  a  long 
time  regularly  put  on  the  stock  boards  in  New  York.  The  ordinary  forms  of 
mills  and  machinery  have  generally  been  used,  the  separation  of  the  gold  being 
only  by  crushing  and  amalgamation  with  mercury.  The  vein  stone  is  a  combi- 
nation of  iron  and  copper  pyrites,  interspersed  with  seams  and  masses  of 
quartz. 

This  celebrated  mine  was  first  opened  about  1842,  and  has  at  times  employed 
a  large  number  of  miners,  the  Earnhardt  vein  alone  employing  66  white  miners, 
and  39  negroes  in  1854,  at  an  average  cost  of  $4000  per  month,  and  realizing  a 
net  profit  of  $76,000  in  13  months.  It  is  claimed  that  it  always  yielded  a  profit 
on  the  working  for  gold. 

Reed  Gold  Mine,  another  celebrated  mine,  is  in  Cabarrus  County,  and  is  the 
oldest  locality  at  which  gold  was  found  in  the  State.  A  lump  of  gold  of  three 
or  four  pounds  weight  was  found  here  in  1799  ;  in  1803  one  of  28  pounds  ;  in 
1804,  five  lumps,  weighing  1^  to  9  pounds  were  found  ;  in  1826,  one  of  16 
pounds,  one  of  9J,  and  one  of  8  pounds ;  in  1835,  one  of  13f,  one  of  4|,  one 
of  5,  and  another  of  8  pounds  weight — in  all,  these  lumps  weighed  115}  pounds 
avoirdupois.  This  mine  has  not  been  worked  regularly,  and  the  character  of 
the  veins  is  not  so  well  known.  A  valuable  vein  of  galena,  or  sulphuret  of  lead, 
has  been  found  on  this  property. 

The  Phifer  Gold  Mine,  in  Union  County,  was  for  some  time  a  very  successful 
mining  property,  obtaining  the  name  of  the  Mint,  for  this  reason. 

The  Davis  Gold  Mine,  also  in  Union  County,  was  also  long  a  profitable  mine. 
It  was  worked  to  a  depth  of  90  feet,  and  abandoned  temporarily. 

The  Pewter  Mine  is  another  gold  and  silver  mine  of  Union  County,  in  which 
the  gold  is  found  alloyed  with  40  to  70  per  cent,  of  silver,  giving  the  metal  a 
whitish  appearance. 

The  Hearne  Gold  Mine  is  in  Stanley  County,  2^  miles  west  of  Albemarle.  It 
is  a  quartz  vein,  yielding  gold  freely,  and  has  been  successfully  worked.     The 


48  RESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

vein  is  three  feet  wide,  and  has  been  traced  a  mile.  Eight  quarts  of  the  rock 
selected  at  one  time,  yielded  $80  in  gold. 

Long  Creek  Gold  Mine,  is  on  the  High  Shoal  property  of  the  Little  Catawba 
River.  It  was  extensively  worked  for  many  years,  sometimes  yielding  $3  per 
bushel  of  ore  as  taken  from  the  vein.  It  has  the  same  quartz  vein,  with  iron 
and  copper  pyrites. 

The  Carter  Gold  Mine  is  a  well-known  and  valuable  mine  of  Montgomery 
County.  It  is  peculiar  in  having  crystalline  limestone  associated  with  the 
quartz  of  the  vein,  and  in  the  presence  of  telluret  of  gold  with  the  limestone. 

The  Reynolds  Gold  Mine  is  in  Montgomery  County,  6  miles  northeast  of  Troy. 
There  is  some  silver  in  the  ore,  and  the  mine  has  been  worked  at  a  moderate 
profit. 

The  Kings'  Mountain  Gold  Mine  has  a  vein  of  porous  quartz,  6  to  7  feet  wide 
in  which  native  gold  is  diffused.  It  contains  crystalline  limestone  in  the  lower 
workings,  mingled  with  the  quartz,  and  often  bearing  gold.  It  has  been  worked 
successfully  for  many  years  by  Mr.  Briggs. 

The  McCulloch  Gold  and  Copper  Mine,  near  Greensboro,  is  a  celebrated  mine 
for  both  gold  and  copper.  The  gold  is  in  a  quartz  vein,  of  varying  width,  but 
growing  much  larger  at  a  depth  of  80  to  100  feet,  and  with  a  distinct  vein  of 
copper  pyrites.  Native  gold  is  abundant  in  the  quartz,  and  the  copper  is  rich 
enough  for  profitable  working  alone.  It  is  now  worked  with  a  large  capital, 
both  for  copper  and  for  gold.  Including  what  is  called  the  Lindsay  vein,  this 
great  vein  is  more  than  a  mile  in  length,  and  with  a  close  management,  will 
largely  repay  the  capital  employed  in  working  it.  The  copper  ore  yields  30  per 
cent,  of  pure  copper. 

The  Fisher  Hill  Gold  Mine,  in  the  same  vicinity,  is  in  a  vein  of  quartz,  with- 
out any  copper  or  iron  sulphurets.  It  can,  therefore,  be  roasted  before  grind- 
ing, and  yields  an  average  of  $3  per  bushel,  as  raised  from  the  mine. 

Hodge's  Hill  Mine  is  a  mine  containing  a  variety  of  minerals  and  metals.  The 
ore  of  copper  is  rich,  but  the  gold  has  not  been  found  in  such  abundance  as  to 
be  profitable. 

The  Lindsay  Mine  is  a  continuation  of  the  McCulloch  Mine  ;  it  has  been  sepa- 
rately worked,  but  not  with  so  much  success. 

The  Gardner  Mint,  near  Jamestown,  and  in  the  same  cluster  of  mining  pro- 
perties, is  a  quartz  vein,  very  rich  in  gold,  and  also  rich  in  copper  pyrites, 
yielding  30  per  cent,  of  pure  copper.  It  has  paid  large  profits  on  the  gold 
working  alone.  It  has  been  worked  to  a  depth  of  110  feet,  yielding  better  there 
than  at  less  depth. 

The  Season,  the  Harlan,  and  the  Beard  mines  are  other  gold  mines  of  this 
Guilford  County  group,  all  being  southwest  of  Greensboro,  and  near  Jamestown, 
of  that  county.  They  have  been  worked  successfully  in  some  cases,  but  were 
afterwards  abandoned. 

The  Rudersill  Gold  Mine,  near  Charlotte,  Mecklenburg  County,  is  a  well- 
known  mine,  at  one  time  thought  to  be  as  profitable  as  any  in  the  State.  It  is 
native  gold,  in  quartz  veins,  the  accompanying  rocks  being  slate  and  granite, 
with  some  copper  ore  in  and  near  the  veins.  There  are  two  or  three  veins  that 
have  been  worked,  giving  one  dollar  of  gold  per  bushel  of  quartz  mined.  The 
ore  is  crushed  by  steam  power. 


RESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  49 

The  Dunn  Mine,  seven  miles  from  Charlotte,  has  been  worked  for  gold,  but 
not  profitably. 

The  Phoenix  Mine,  in  Cabarrus  County,  has  produced  ore  yielding  one  to  three 
dollars  in  gold  per  bushel.     It  is  located  14  miles  S.  E.  from  Concord. 

The  Barrier  Mine,  near  the  Phoenix  Mine,  is  a  productive  gold  mine. 

The  Orchard  Mine,  an  extension  of  the  Phoenix  Mine  eastward,  produces  both 
gold  and  copper,  but  not  largely. 

The  Pioneer  Gold  Mines  constitute  a  cluster,  twelve  miles  east  of  Concord,  and 
produce  both  gold  and  copper.  The  vein  is  quartz,  and  the  surrounding  rock 
granite.  With  one  pair  of  Chilian  millstones  in  operation,  30  to  40  bushels  of 
ore  were  ground  per  day,  with  an  average  yield  of  gold  of  §3  30  per  bushel. 
In  the  vicinity  of  this  mine,  on  the  Morrison  plantation,  there  are  four  veins 
bearing  gold,  and..one  rich  both  in  gold  and  copper. 

The  Long  Mine,  2  miles  N.  W.  of  the  Pioneer,  is  a  vertical  vein  of  crumbling 
quartz,  two  feet  wide,  and  as  rich  in  gold  as  the  Pioneer. 

Rymer  Gold  Mine  is  6  miles  east  of  Salisbury,  to  the  left  of  the  road  leading 
to  Gold  Hill.  The  gold  is  in  a  three-foot  vein  of  pale-colored  sulphuret  of  iron, 
forming  part  of  a  vein  fissure  of  quartz,  7  feet  wide.  It  contains  no  copper,  and 
may  be  treated  by  roasting.     It  is  said  to  be  productive. 

The  Jones  and  Lafflin  Mines,  in  Davidson  County,  belong  to  a  class  of  gold 
mines  different  from  those  above  described,  and  in  which  the  gold  is  found  in 
rocks  of  sedimentary  deposit,  and  not  in  intruded  veins.  The  Jones  Mine  is 
largely  worked  from  a  bed  of  soft  slate  and  quartz,  60  feet  wide  and  30  feet  high, 
yielding  15  to  30  cents  of  gold  per  bushel.  The  LafHin  mine,  one  mile  from  the 
other,  is  worked  in  a  soft  bed  of  slate,  forty  feet  deep,  and  is  very  productive. 

The  Delft  Mine,  near  the  Lafflin,  is  another  of  this  class;  and  the  Bobbins 
Mine,  in  Randolph  County,  with  the  very  productive  Sawyer  Mine,  of  the  same 
county,  are  others  of  the  same  class,  the  gold  being  found  in  beds  of  soft,  sandy 
slate. 

The  Zion  Mine,  12  miles  from  Troy,  in  Montgomery  County,  is  a  deposit  of 
gold  in  quartz,  overlying  a  conglomerate.  More  than  $100,000  have  been  taken 
from  this  deposit,  and  the  singular  fact  is  well  authenticated  that  the  gold  bear- 
ing rock  contains  fossils. 

The  Howie  Mine,  in  Union  County,  is  another  yielding  gold  from  sedimentary 
rocks.  It  is  usualiy  called  the  Howie  and  .Lawson  Gold  Mines,  and  is  located  in 
the  hills  of  this  county,  near  the  State  line.  The  gold  is  found  in  seams  or  beds 
of  slate  and  granular  quartz,  and  the  yield  is  $1  50  to  $3  00  per  bushel  of  the 
mined  rock. 

The  Ward  Mine,'m  Davidson  County,  has  its  gold  in  quartzite  seams,  horizon- 
tal, or  slightly  inclined,  in  slate  rocks,  not  in  vertical  veins.  The  gold  is  crys- 
tallized, and  lies  in  pockets  of  red  clay,  some  of  them  having  §500  or  $600  of 
crystallized  gold.     There  are  20  or  30  of  this  peculiar  class  of  gold  mines  in  all. 

The  Hoover  Hill  Gold  Mine,  of  Randolph  County,  is  another  of  this  class. 

The  Cansler  and  Shvford  Geld  Mine,  in  Catawba  County,  16  miles  N.  E.  of  Lin- 
colnton,  is  another  of  this  class,  from  which  a  large  amount  of  gold  has  been 
obtained. 

The  Poriis  Mine,  in  Franklin  County,  is  remarkable  for  the  quantity  of  gold 
found  in  lumps,  the  deposit  being  in  seams,  not  veins. 


50  RESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

The  Parker  Mine,  in  Stanley  County,  also  has  its  gold  in  seams.  $200,000  in 
gold  have  been  taken  out. 

The  Beaver  Dam  Mine,  in  Montgomery  County,  has  been  a  very  productive 
mine  of  this  class. 

Silver  Mines. 

The  Washington  Silver  Mine  is  one  of  the  most  important  and  valuable  in  North 
Carolina.  It  is  located  S.  E.  of  Salisbury,  and  not  far  from  Gold  Hill,  the  loca- 
lity being  called  Silver  Hill.  The  mine  consists  of  two  heavy  veins,  originally 
exposed  by  the  plough,  on  a  low  rounded  hill  of  but  50  feet  elevation.  The  vein 
is  slate,  looking  much  like  other  slate,  but  being  perceptibly  heavier,  and  con- 
taining both  native  silver,  and  silver  in  combination  with  galena,  or  sulphuret  of 
lead.  Though  these  are  the  leading  metals,  there  are  also  gold,  zinc,  and  cop- 
per, the  zinc  being  particularly  abundant.  The  zinc  has  interfered  with  the  suc- 
cessful working  of  the  silver,  at  some  times,  and  a  great  variety  of  metallic  forms 
and  combinations  has  been  disclosed  in  the  workings  of  the  mine.  Black,  steel- 
grained  zinc  ore  ;  galena,  with  silver  combined,  and  fine  arborescent  native  sil- 
ver, are  the  most  common  products.  Some  of  the  ore  yields  as  high  as  38  per 
cent,  of  lead,  and  3  per  cent,  of  silver.  By  methods  recently  adopted,  the  zinc 
is  separated  in  the  form  of  blende,  and  3  tons  of  the  silver  lead  ore  can  be 
smelted  daily,  yielding  100  ounces  to  each  ton,  and  worth  $10  per  ounce.  An 
extension  of  the  Washington  silver  veins  has  been  discovered  near  A.  J.  Moore's, 
3  miles  west  of  Spencers  P.  O.,  which  is  quite  as  valuable  as  the  portion  so  long 
worked. 

McMackin  Silver  Mine  is  1^  miles  S.  W.  of  Gold  Hill,  and  in  the  same  forma- 
tions as  the  gold  mines,  but  the  mineral  veins  are  like  those  of  the  Washington 
mine.  It  is  in  all  respects  similar  in  its  products  to  the  mine  above  described. 
Phosphates  and  carbonates  of  lead  are  found  here,  also,  and  a  fine  imitation  of 
French  chalk.     It  has  been  worked  much  less  than  the  Washington  mine. 

Copper  Mines. 

The  North  Carolina  Copper  Mine,  in  Guilford  County,  sometimes  called  the 
Fentress  mine,  has  been  traced  for  3  miles  by  the  external  show  of  quartz.  It  is 
a  vein  of  quartz  and  carbonate  of  iron,  from  one  to  three  or  four  feet  thick,  the 
copper  being  in  the  form  of  yellow  pyrites,  or  sulphuret,  yielding  15  to  30  per 
cent,  of  fine  copper.  Most  of  this  ore  was  formerly  shipped  to  Boston  for  re- 
duction, and  was  sold  for  a  price  dependent  on  the  percentage  of  copper  in  it. 
About  1500  tons  of  the  ore  had  been  sent  out  up  to  1856.   (Emmons.} 

The  Ludowick,  Boger,  and  Hill  Mines,  12  miles  from  Gold  Hill,  in  Cabarrus 
County,  are  veins  yielding  the  yellow  sulphuret  of  copper  largely,  and  promising 
profitable  results  when  worked. 

The  Twin  Mine,  6  miles  S.  W.  of  Greensboro,  shows  two  veins,  each  18  inches 
thick,  and  only  about  4  feet  apart,  containing  quartz  thickly  crowded  with  yel- 
low sulphuret  of  copper. 

Headrick  Copper  Mine,  is  composed  of  veins  of  copper  and  iron  pyrites  intruded 
through  slate  formations.  The  veins  have  been  traced  more  than  a  mile,  and 
there  is  no  doubt  of  its  value  as  a  mine. 


RESOURCES    OF    NORTH    CAROLINA.  51 

The  Spencer  Copper  Mine,  in  Randolph  County,  has  a  promising  sulphuret 
vein. 

The  Standard  property,  near  Gold  Hill,  and  a  large  number  of  gold  mines 
before  named,  yield  large  quantities  of  rich  copper  ore. 

The  Little  Tennessee  Copper  Mine  is»10  miles  south  of  Franklin,  Macon  County, 
near  the  Tennessee  River.  It  is  only  about  a  mile  from  the  Rabun  Gap  Rail- 
road, and  four  miles  from  the  Georgia  State  line.  It  is  a  bed  of  black  ore,  the 
form  in  which  the  yellow  sulphuret  is  found  after  decomposition  of  the  iron 
pyrites,  and  the  washing  out  of  the  sulphur  from  both,  by  the  long  exposure  to 
which  the  upper  part  of  the  original  vein  has  been  subjected.  Great  quantities 
of  gossan,  or  wasted  iron  oxide,  resulting  from  the  same  decomposition,  abound 
on  the  surface,  and  the  great  promise  afforded  by  the  external  indications  has 
been  fully  borne  out  by  the  results  of  the  openings  so  far  made. 

The  Nantahala  Copper  Mine  is  four  miles  southwest  of  Franklin,  Macon  County, 
and  two  or  three  miles  from  the  track  of  the  railroad.  It  is  a  broad  mineral 
vein,  with  a  large  quantity  of  both  the  yellow  sulphuret  and  the  black  oxide  of 
copper  within  easy  reach. 

The  celebrated  Ducktoicn  Copper  Mines  are  just  across  the  line  in  Tennessee, 
the  geological  formation,  the  ores,  and  the  form  of  mixing,  being  exactly  the 
same  as  in  all  the  mines  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  or  particularly  those  just  de- 
scribed. The  Ducktown  mines  show  what  this  class  of  mines  is  capable  of  pro- 
ducing. They  were  discovered  in  1850,  and  in  spite  of  great  difficulties  in 
transporting  the  ore,  they  had  produced,  up  to  1853,  14,291  tons  of  copper  ore, 
which  was  sold  for  more  than  a  million  dollars.  In  September,  1855,  seven 
mines  of  that  vicinity  produced  807  tons  of  ore,  worth  §80,000,  or  at  the  rate 
of  nearly  §1,000,000  annually. 

The  Ehvassee  Copper  Mine,  is- the  vicinity  of  the  Ducktown,  and  also  just 
across  the  line  of  Tennessee,  is  scarcely  less  celebrated  or  less  productive  than 
the  Ducktown. 

The  average  product  of  pure  copper  from  the  black  oxide  and  the  sulphuret  of 
these  North  Carolina  mines  is  more  than  twice  as  great  as  the  Cornwall  mines 
of  England.  Dressed  ore  from  the  Cornwall  mines  ranges  from  four  to  eight 
per  cent,  of  pure  copper  only,  while  this  North  Carolina  ore,  as  mined,  yields 
from  ten  to  fifty  per  cent.,  the  average  being  about  twenty-five  per  cent. 

Lead,  Zinc,  etc. 

Lead,  as  we  have  before  said,  was  produced  largely  during 
the  war  from  the  Conrad  and  McMakin  silver  mines,  but.  at 
other  times,  no  regular  working  for  lead  has  been  done.  It 
would  pay  to  reduce  the  galena,  so  often  found  with  other 
ores,  more  systematically  than  has  before  been  attempted ; 
and  the  fullest  proof  of  this  fact  is  furnished  in  the  production 
of  lead  at  these  mines  during  the  Confederate  authority. 

Both  lead  and  zinc  occur  in  connection  with  the  primary  iron 
ores  in  North  Carolina,  as  they  do  in  New  Jersey ;  and  in 
many  cases  it  will  be  found  profitable  to  construct  works  for 


52  RESOURCES    OP   NORTH   CAROLINA. 

reducing  them.  In  no  country  are  the  valuable  metals  found 
more  frequently  associated  in  the  same  mineral  veins  than  in 
North  Carolina. 

Zinc  is  abundant  in  many  of  4he  gold-bearing  veins  of 
Cabarrus  and  Davidson  Counties,  and  as  it  was  formerly  much 
neglected,  if  not  wholly  unknown  to  the  miners,  it  is  proba- 
ble that  it  will  be  found  still  more  largely  when  it  is  found  to 
be  capable  of  profitable  working.  It  is  found  principally,  if 
not  wholly,  in  the  form  of  sulphuret,  better  known  as  zinc 
blende — a  fine  grained  and  hard  mineral,  of  an  ash-gray  color, 
with  some  metallic  lustre,  resembling,  in  some  degree,  the 
more  abundant  galena,  or  sulphuret  of  lead,  with  which  it  is 
often  found  associated  in  the  mine.  Much  difficulty  has  been 
experienced  in  working  the  silver  ores  of  the  Washington 
and  other  similar  mines  in  consequence  of  the  presence  of 
zinc,  and  for  a  long  time  it  was  not  properly  known  what 
this  intrusive  sulphuret  was. 

(Several  promising  veins  of  zinc  blende  are  known,  one  at 
the  Jacob  Troutman  gold  mine,  one  mile  east  of  Gold  Hill. 
At  100  feet  below  the  surface  it  first  appeared,  two  inches 
thick  ;  50  feet  deeper  it  is  six  inches  thick.  This  would  well 
repay  working.  At  the  Washington  silver  mine  of  Davidson 
County,  zinc  blende  is  abundant,  and  also  at  the  McMackin 
mine  in  Cabarrus  Count}r.  It  is  believed  that  not  only  zinc 
itself,  but  the  white  oxide,  so  valuable  as  a  paint,  may  be 
readily  and  profitably  made  at  these  hlende  mines. 

Chromic  iron,  the  basis  of  many  paints,  is  found  in  con- 
siderable quantities  in  nearly  every  county  west  of  the  Blue 
Ridge.  It  is  claimed  by  geologists  that  it  can  be  mined  to 
advantage  there  for  transportation  to  any  market. 

Iron  pyrites  (sulphuret  of  iron)  is  found  in  great  abund- 
ance in  Cleveland  and  Rutherford  Counties,  and,  during  the 
war,  copperas  and  alum  were  made  there.  Prof.  Kerr  says 
in  the  report  just  made,  May,  1869  : — 

"The  rock  weathers  easily  on  exposure  to  the  air,  and  produces  cop- 
peras and  alum  iu  immense  quantities.  Thousands  of  tons  were  manufac- 
tured here  during  the  war,  and  the  business  might  still  be  profitably 
conducted.  The  circumstances  under  which  copperas  is  made  in  Vermont 
and  elsewhere  are  not  more  favorable.     The  only  disadvantage  here  is  in 


EESOURCES   OF  NORTH   CAROLINA.  53 

the  matter  of  transportation  to  market,  which,  however,  is  likely  soon  to 
be  remedied." 

Iron  pyrites  is  found  abundantly  in  the  gold-bearing  veins, 
and  also  with  copper  pyrites ;  sometimes  misleading  alike 
those  who  expect  too  much,  and  others  who  expect  too  little 
from  it.  Though  often  a  brilliant  colored  mineral,  it  is  neither 
gold  nor  copper ;  but  it  may  be  associated  with  one  or  both 
of  them,  as  found  in  North  Carolina,  and  it  is  valuable  of 
itself,  being  easily  converted  into  copperas,  which  is  sulphate 
of  iron. 

Graphite,  or  Plumbago,  is  found  in  abundance  in  Wake 
County,  a  few  miles  west  of  Ealeigh,  and  extending  a  distance 
of  eighteen  or  twenty  miles  southwestward.  It  is  in  veins, 
six  to  eighteen  inches  in  width,  with  quartz  associated,  and 
the  veins  dipping  at  an  angle  of  60°  or  70°.  It  is  highly 
valued  as  a  paint,  but  contains  too  much  silex  for  use  as 
pencils,  or  as  anti-friction  bearings.  In  Lincoln  County,  on 
the  border  of  Catawba  County,  other  extensive  deposits  exist, 
reported  to  be  of  good  quality,  also.  Where  so  much  is 
found,  it  is  scarcely  possible  that  the  best  forms  of  the 
mineral  will  not  ultimately  be  discovered.  The  black-lead 
beds  of  Wake  County  alone  exceed  in  extent  all  others 
known.  They  have  been  worked,  and  the  product  refined  at 
Ealeigh,  for  some  years  with  fair  success. 

The  true  black-lead,  or  graphite,  as  it  is  called  in  the 
mineral  form,  is  frequently  found  in  the  King's  Mountain 
district,  in  Catawba,  Lincoln,  and  Gaston  Counties.  It  is  a 
pure  carburet  of  iron,  and  might  be  expected  in  the  vicinity  of 
such  iron  ores  as  are  found  there ;  and  wherever  found  it  is 
very  valuable. 

Mica  is  found  in  the  mountain  counties  in  the  largest  sizes 
known,  furnishing  plates  six  by  eight  inches,  and  free  from 
spots  or  flaws.  "  Plates  four  inches  by  six,  when  clear  and 
free  from  flaws,  are  worth  about  a  dollar  and  a  half  per 
pound."  (Kerr.) 

Diamonds  of  large  size  have  been  found  in  the  King's 
Mountain   district,  and  in  McDowell  County  is   found  the 
flexible  sandstone,  Itacolumile  of  the  mineralogist,  in  which 
the  diamond  occurs  in  other  parts  of  the  world. 
5 


54  EESOUECES   OF   NOETH   CAEOLINA. 

Tungsten,  a  rare  metal,  "  which  was  long  merely  a  chemi- 
cal curiosity,  but  has  recently  assumed  a  high  value,  particu- 
larly on  account  of  its  relation  to  the  manufacture  of  steel, 
occurs  in  Cabarrus  County."  (Prof.  Kerr,  Rept.  of  1869.) 

Alum  and  Coppeeas  Slates. — Under  the  head  of  Iron 
Pyrites  these  formations  have  been  referred  to,  the  original 
mineral  being  chiefly  that ;  but  the  original  form  being  much 
changed  by  "  weathering"  or  exposure.  In  his  report  of  1866, 
Prof.  Kerr  says: — 

"Alum  and  copperas  slates  abound  in  many  parts  of  the  State,  and  have 
been  extensively  brought  into  requisition  during  the  late  war.  The  counties 
of  Cleveland  and  Rutherford  alone  contain  not  less  than  one  hundred  square 
miles  of  these  rocks,  and  could  easily  supply  the  continent  with  copperas. 
This  material  is  derived  by  the  process  of  weathering,  from  the  iron  pyrites, 
which  is  disseminated  in  great  abundance,  and  in  a  state  of  extreme  com- 
minution through  the  slates,  many  of  which,  being  feldspathic,  also  yield 
alum." 

Limestone,  Marble,  Building  Stone,  &c. 

There  are  three  formations  in  the  western  part  of  the  State 
which  afford  supplies  of  limestone,  and  two  beds  east  of  the 
Blue  Ridge,  one  of  which  extends  through  the  State  from 
Stokes  County  on  the  north,  to  Gaston  and  King's  Mountain 
on  the  south.  The  other  is  in  McDowell  County,  chiefly  near 
the  Blue  Ridge.  A  small  bed  of  limestone,  approaching  marl 
in  its  characteristics,  is  also  found  in  the  northeast  parts  of 
"Wake  County.  The  largest  of  the  beds  in  the  southwest  is  in 
Cherokee  County,  extending  along  Notteley  and  Valley  Rivers, 
into  Macon  County.  "Jt  crops  out  along  the  banks  and 
beds  of  the  streams,  in  the  fields  and  roads,  and  in  the  bluffs 
overhanging  the  rivers,  so  as  to  be  easily  accessible  and  con- 
venient for  agricultural  purposes."  (Kerr.)  There  are  three 
other  beds  of  limestone  crossing  the  valley  of  the  French 
Broad  River,  in  Buncombe  and  the  adjoining  counties.  Great 
quantities  of  lime  are  made  here,  and  distributed  to  various 
districts  for  agricultural  purposes.  One  of  these  belts  is 
crystalline,  and  a  natural  marble;  but  unfit  for  use  as  marble, 
because  of  the  presence  of  magnesia.  The  lower  bed  at  Warm 
Springs,  on  the  French  Broad,  is  a  solid  blue  limestone  of 
great  purity. 


EESOUECES   OF  NORTH    CAEOLIXA.  55 

Limestone  is  extensively  used  for  fertilizing  purposes  in 
both  the  mountain  districts  just  referred  to,  and  in  the  great 
central  belt,  from  Gaston  County  northward.  Its  use  may 
be  and  should  be  largely  extended,  and  it  is  only  too  rare 
in  some  of  the  eastern  counties  where  it  may  be  particularly 
valuable.  Prof.  Emmons  speaks  of  a  white  granular  lime- 
stone in  Stokes  County,  found  in  connection  with  primary 
rocks,  which  at  Bolejack's  quarries,  four  miles  from  German- 
town,  as  well  as  at  Martin's  lime-kilns,  is  extensively  quar- 
ried, and  makes  excellent  lime.  Prof.  Emmons  also  refers  to 
the  peculiar  limestone  of  the  King's  Mountain  gold  mine,  and 
of  the  Carter  gold  mine,  in  Montgomery  County,  in  both 
cases  containing  gold.  Practically,  a  valuable  source  for 
lime,  and,  therefore,  an  equivalent  of  limestone,  is  found,  as 
we  subsequently  show,  in  the  shell  marls  of  the  Eastern 
counties. 

Marble. 

Marble  is  only  moderately  abundant  in  the  State,  and  it  is 
found  chiefly  in  the  mountain  counties  west  of  the  Blue  Eidge. 
In  the  earlier  examinations  of  the  State,  marble  is  scarcely 
referred  to,  but  recently  it  has  been  found  more  largely  in 
the  southwest  on  the  completion  of  the  survey  of  the  moun- 
tain counties. 

"The  limestone  of  Valley  River  is  all  marble,  although  it  is  not  every- 
where sufficiently  free  from  flaws  and  impurities  for  ornamental  uses.  There 
are  several  quarries,  however,  where  the  rocks  crop  out  in  fine  quality  and 
grain.  The  track  of  the  proposed  railroad  lies  along  the  line  of  these 
quarries,  and  will  be  built  for  many  miles  upon  beds  of  solid  marble.  It  is 
of  several  shades  of  color,  generally  white  and  blue  to  bluish-gray.  I 
have  seen  specimens  also  of  a  fine  mottled  blue  and  white  variety  from  the 
head  of  Valley  River.  But  the  finest  grained  and  tinted  specimens  are 
found  on  Red  Marble  Creek  and  Nantehala  River.  The  most  beautiful 
shades  are  gray  and  rose  to  flesh-colored.  I  have  seen  no  marbles  from 
any  part  of  the  world  superior  to  these."  (Prof.  Kerr's  Report  of  1866.) 

The  marble  here  referred  to  is  a  continuation  of  the  well- 
known  beautifully  variegated  Tennessee  marble  beds.  There 
is  no  reason  why  a  large  use  of  this  marble  should  not  be 
made  at  once  for  the  local  consumption,  at  least.  All  the 
western  part  of  the  State  could  be  supplied  at  cheaper  rates 


56  RESOURCES   OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

than  it  could  possibly  be  imported  from  other  States  or  from 
abroad,  and  the  fine  polish  these  variegated  marbles  admit 
makes  them  desirable  for  variety  in  ornamental  building  in 
every  part  of  the  country.  The  railroad  when  laid  will  sup- 
ply cheap  transportation,  and  the  State  Geologist  earnestly 
urges  the  practicability  of  putting  these  marble  beds  to  im- 
mediate use. 

Granites  and  Building  Stone. 

The  greater  part  of  the  surface  of  North  Carolina  belongs 
to  the  primary  geological  formations,  and  good  granite  is 
found  in  many  localities,  as  it  is  in  the  New  England  States, 
and  in  Virginia.  There  are  two  continuous  belts  of  granite 
rocks  crossing  the  State  from  northeast  to  southwest ;  the  first 
or  most  eastern  having  Ealeigh  nearly  central  to  it.  It  is 
called  the  Ealeigh  granite,  and  the  noble  State  House  at 
Ealeigh  is  built  of  this  material.  This  granite  varies  from  a 
light  to  a  dark  gray,  and  some  quarries  of  it  have  too  much 
felspar,  and  it  undergoes  decomposition  too  readily  when  ex- 
posed. It  extends  from  Weldon  on  the  northeast  by  way  of 
Ealeigh  across  the  State,  to  Eichmond  County  and  the 'Yadkin 
at  the  southwest,  in  many  places  furnishing  the  best  possible 
building  material.  Another  belt  of  granite  passes  in  the 
same  direction  across  the  State,  having  Greensboro  and  Salis- 
bury central  to  it.  This  is  more  properly  to  be  called  sienite, 
or  syenitic  granite,  with  felspar  too  abundant  generally  to 
make  a  firm  and  durable  stone.  Still,  many  quarries  exist 
where  it  is  a  firm  building  material,  equal  in  grain  and  tex- 
ture to  the  best.  This  belt  is  full  of  mineral  deposits  and 
metallic  veins.  Gold  and  copjoer  mines  are  abundant  along 
the  entire  line  of  the  belt.  A  very  friable  decomposing 
granite  is  found  in  Lincoln  and  Gaston  Counties,  west  of  the 
Catawba,  but  it  is  useless  for  building  purposes. 

Between  these  granite  belts  there  are  fine  belts  of  freestone 
or  sandstone  of  red  grain,  mostly  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Deep 
Eiver  coal  mines.  This  freestone  is  soft  and  easy  to  work 
when  first  opened,  but  it  becomes  very  hard  on  exposure. 
Emmons  describes  the  red  sandstone  underlying  the  coal  of 
Deep  Eiver  as  a  freestone,  but  it  is  really  a  formation  like  the 


RESOURCES   OF   NORTH   CAROLINA.  57 

brown  stone  of  Connecticut,  and  all  agree  that  it  is  a  superior 
building  material.  There  is  an  upper  red  sandstone  above 
the  coal,  but  it  is  softer  and  less  reliable  as  a  building  stone 
than  the  lower  beds.  Emmons  says,  "  The  lower  sandstone 
is  red  or  purplish-red,  often  deep  red,  or  the  color  of  a  well 
burnt  brick.  It  is  made  up  of  grains  of  quartz,  which  are 
rarely  coarse ;  its  texture  is  even,  and  many  beds  are  firm, 
free  from  marly  layers,  and  constitute  an  excellent  freestone."' 
"The  red  and  purple  sandstones  abound  in  the  lower  red  sand- 
stone, with  beds  suitable  for  building  stone.  The  color  of  these 
beds,  whatever  it  may  be,  is  lively  and  inviting.  Indeed,  no 
difference  can  be  discovered  between  those  of  Deep  River  and 
those  of  the  Hudson  Eiver,  or  the  Connecticut  River  sand- 
stone. As  these  beds  are  extensive  they  furnish  at  many 
points  stone  of  a  suitable  quality  for  any  purpose  which  may 
be  required."  (Report  of  1856.)  The  stone  marl  of  the  low 
country  also  makes  good  building  stone,  as  may  be  seen  at 
Newbern. 

Grindstones  and  "Whetstones  are  found  in  many  parts 
of  the  State.  The  Linville  slates  of  Burke  County  furnish 
them,  and  at  Adams'  Knob,  on  Johns  River,  good  material 
for  grindstones  is  found.  There  are  some  sheets  of  the  sand- 
stones of  the  Deep  River  coal-fields  that  are  suited  for  grind- 
stone. Scythe  stones  are  found  on  the  Xantehala,  in  Macon 
County.  In  many  places  the  quartzite  rocks  become  fine 
grained,  and  well  adapted  to  use  as  whetstones  and  hones. 

"  In  the  midst  of  the  gray  stone  beds,  more  particularly  those  which  oc- 
cupy a  place  between  the  two  red  sandstones,  I  have  frequently  observed 
valuable  grits,  which  are  suitable  both  for  coarse  and  fine  grindstones. 
Grindstones  have,  however,  frequently  been  made  from  the  reddish  bed.  as 
well  as  the  drab  and  gray  grits.  These  stones  have  been  made  to  supply 
the  wants  of  citizens  far  removed  from  the  means  of  transporting  heavy 
materials."  (Emmons1  Report  of  1856.) 

Millstones  are  particularly  frequent  and  good  in  many 
parts  of  North  Carolina.  The  county  of  Montgomery,  Prof. 
Emmons  says,  can  furnish  buhrstones  of  the  best  quality, 
enough  to  supply  the  whole  country.  It  is  like  the  buhrstone 
of  Paris,  very  tough  and  hard,  and  perfectly  adapted  to  grind- 
ing wheat.     This  kind  of  rock  is  abundant  in  many  places  ; 


58  EESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

that  on  Laurel  Eiver  in  Madison  County  is  also  said  to  be 
equal  to  the  French,  and  in  Montgomery  County,  on  the 
Yadkin,  the  same  resemblance  to  the  French  buhrstone  exists. 
This  cellular  quartz  rock  is  found  in  nearly  all  of  the  western 
counties  also.  Still  another  form  of  millstone  is  found  in  the 
conglomerate  rocks  both  above  and  below  the  coal  of  Deep 
Eiver.  "  Beneath  the  red  sandstone  the  conglomerate  is  so 
perfectly  consolidated  that  it  forms  a  valuable  millstone." 
In  this  the  rock  is  composed  of  cemented  quartz  pebbles,  and 
in  splitting  it,  these  split  in  two,  giving  a  grinding  surface 
which  is  particularly  well  suited  to  corn  mills,  but  not  so  well 
to  wheat  grinding.  There  are  millstone  quarries  on  Richland 
Creek,  and  Indian  Creek.  The  best  are  quarried  in  Moore 
County,  where  "  they  make  an  excellent  corn  stone,  which, 
when  broken  from  the  quarry,  split  across  the  pebbles  of 
quartz  without  removing  them  from  their  beds."  "  Several 
quarries  are  opened  in  Moore  County,  and  from  them  the 
country  is  principally  supplied."    (Emmons.) 

Serpentine  of  line  quality  for  ornamental  purposes  is 
found  near  Patterson,  in  the  Upper  Yadkin  Valley.  "  It  is 
of  a  dark  blue  color,  and  beautifully  veined  with  chrysolite, 
furnishing  an  excellent  material  for  mantels,  table  tops,  and 
other  ornamental  uses."  (Prof.  Kerr.)  Extensive  dykes  of 
serpentine  exist  in  many  places,  which  frequently  contain 
mineral  deposits  and  metal  veins. 

Roofing  and  flagging  slates  abound  in  the  belt  of  slate 
formations  which  extends  through  the  State  from  Anson  and 
Union  Counties,  on  the  south,  to  the  Virginia  line  on  the 
north.  This  belt  is  forty  miles  wide,  and  it  produces  a  great 
variety  of  slates  useful  for  practical  purposes. 

Soapstone  of  two  varieties  is  found,  one  being  the  soap- 
stone  proper,  and  found  in  Wake,  Moore,  Orange  and  Cald- 
well Counties.  The  other  is  a  very  rare  mineral  in  which 
alumina  takes  the  place  of  magnesia,  forming  a  white  or  green- 
ish-white slaty  rock,  soapy  to  the  feel,  and  admirably  adapted 
to  use  as  lining  for  stoves,  chimney  backs,  mantel  pieces,  &c. 
It  is  perfectly  adapted  to  resist  fire.  It  is  abundant  at  Han- 
cock's mills,  on  Deep  River,  and  at  Troy,  in  Montgomery 
County. 


RESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  59 

Fire-clay  of  the  best  quality  for  fire-brick  or  other  uses, 
is  found  in  the  beds  beneath  all  the  coal  seams,  both  in  the 
Deep  River  and  Dan  River  coal-fields. 

Porcelain  clay  is  found  in  Montgomery  and  Chatham 
Counties ;  also  in  Cherokee  and  Macon  Counties  of  the  ex- 
treme southwest.  It  has  been  mined  largely  for  transpor- 
tation out  of  the  State,  to  New  York,  and  even  to  Europe,  to 
be  used  in  the  manufacture  of  the  fine  kinds  of  porcelain 
ware.     (Prof.  Kerr,  Report  of  1866.) 

Bituminous  and  oil-bearing-  shales  exist  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  coal-beds.  Prof.  Emmons  says,  "  From  thirty  to  forty 
gallons  of  crude  kerosene  oil  exist  in  every  ton  of  these 
slates.  They  are  from  fifty  to  seventy  feet  thick,  and  it  is 
proper  to  add  that  it  is  a  better  oil  than  that  furnished  from 
the  coal." 

Professor  Kerr,  in  1866,  gives  the  following  list  of  metalli- 
ferous ores,  and  of  earthy  minerals  and  rocks  of  economical 
value,  as  being  found  in  considerable  quantities  in  the  State: — 

"Under  the  first  division  occur  gold,  silver,  copper,  lead,  zinc,  iron,  and 
tungsten ;  and  here,  for  convenience,  may  be  added  the  diamond ;  and 
under  the  second  may  be  mentioned  as  occurring  in  this  State  under  such 
circumstances  as  render  them  economically  valuable,  coal,  marl,  limestone, 
marble,  architectural  granite,  sandstone,  porphyry,  firestone,  buhrstone, 
grindstone  grit,  whetstone  slate,  roofing  slate,  alum,  and  copperas  slates, 
soapstone,  serpentine,  agahnatolite,  a  form  of  soapstone,  procelain  clay,  fire- 
clay, graphite,  or  plumbago,  garnet,  barytes,  manganese,  oil  slates,  and 
chromate  of  iron." 

We  have  not  been  able,  with  the  space  at  command  in  this 
brief  statement  of  the  resources  of  the  State,  to  give  as  much 
of  detailed  description  of  all  these  as  we  desired,  and  there 
still  remain  to  be  noticed  the 

Native  Mineral  Fertilizers ;  Marl,  and  Phosphates. 

Marl  is  one  of  the  leading  elements  of  native  wealth  in  the 
soils  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  State,  being  confined,  of  course, 
to  the  low  country,  the  sand  plains  and  swamp  lands.  It 
appears  to  be  a  continuation  of  the  New  Jersey,  Maryland, 
and  Virginia  marl  beds,  so  far  as  the  green  sand  marl  is  con- 
cerned ;  and  the  phosphate  marls  of  Brunswick  County  are  a 


60  KESOURCES  OP   NORTH   CAROLINA. 

continuation  of  the  rich  phosphate  beds  found  near  Charles- 
ton.    Prof.  Kerr  says: — 

"  This  valuable  mineral  is  literally  scattered  over  most  of  the  sea-coast 
counties  of  the  State,  and  is  found  in  every  degree  of  purity  and  consolida- 
tion, from  a  mere  aggregation  of  loose  shells  to  the  most  compact  limestone, 
suitable  for  building  or  for  burning  into  lime.  The  famous  bathstone  of 
London  is  matched  by  some  of  these  beds.  The  marl  is  generally  found 
near  the  surface,  and  is  easily  accessible." 

Dr.  Emmons  and  Mr.  Ruffin  have  very  thoroughly  described 
the  marl  beds  of  the  eastern  counties  in  their  reports  on  the 
Swamp  Lands,  and  have  pointed  out  the  distinction  between 
the  more  valuable  classes,  and  some  that  appear  to  be  deficient 
in  potash,  or  to  have  an  excess  of  injurious  salts.  Professor 
Emmons  describes  three  classes  of  these  marls,  one,  called 
stone  marl,  is  composed  of  small  shells  cemented  by  silica. 
It  is  hard,  making  a  good  building  stone,  and  even  good  mill- 
stones. The  inclosure  of  the  cemetery  at  Newbern  is  of  this 
rock,  and  it  has  a  fine  appearance,  giving  evidence  also  of 
great  durability.  Professor  Emmons  claims  that  it  is  superior 
to  granite  for  fine  walls,  and  that,  in  house  walls,  it  has  the 
merit  of  being  always  dry.  Another  variety  of  this  stone 
marl  is  a  granular  cream-colored  rock,  almost  destitute  of  shells. 
It  is  soft  when  first  cut  from  the  quarry,  but  soon  hardens. 
This  is  a  good  building  stone,  and  in  some  places  may  be 
burnt  into  good  lime,  but  generally  it  will  not  make  strong 
lime.  It  is  abundant  in  Wayne  County,  near  Goldsboro. 
The  stone  marl  first  mentioned  above,  underlies  Newbern  and 
vicinity. 

Next  is  the  green  sand  marl,  similar  to  that  of  New  Jersey. 
The  best  beds  of  this  are  at  Black  Rock,  on  the  Cape  Fear 
River,  twenty-five  miles  above  Wilmington.  It  extends 
across  the  State  northeastward,  at  about  the  same  distance 
from  the  sea,  appearing  at  a  great  many  points  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Kinston,  Tarboro,  and  other  places  in  this  range.  In 
some  places  it  is  very  good,  but  generally  is  not  equal  to  the 
best  of  New  Jersey  green  sand  marls.  Colonel  Clark,  three 
miles  above  Tarboro,  has  used  this  green  sand  marl  with  great 
success,  as  have  many  others. 

Again,  a  white  shell  marl  is  found,  composed  of  light  cream- 


RESOURCES   OF   NORTH  CAROLINA.  61 

colored  grains,  with  fragments  of  shells,  corals,  &c.  Much  of 
this  is  soft,  and  easily  shovelled  from  the  beds.  It  often 
makes  good  lime  by  burning,  and  therefore  answers  a  double 
purpose.  There  is  a  narrow  belt  of  this  marl  only,  stretching 
across  several  of  the  eastern  counties,  through  Hanover,  Ons- 
low, Jones,  and  Craven  Counties.  It  is  found  at  Wilmington, 
and  on  the  Neuse  above  Newbern.  Mr.  Wadsworth,  of  Craven 
County,  certifies  to  the  best  results  from  its  use,  and  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  abundance  of  lime  it  contains  must  render  it 
very  valuable  in  reclaiming  worn-out  lands.  Lastly,  there  is 
a  shell  marl  proper,  composed  very  largely  of  undecomposed 
marine  shells.  This  is  less  valuable  than  the  preceding,  yet 
when  they  are  wanting,  it  will  furnish  lime  cheaply,  with 
some  phosphates  and  potash.  It  is  found  in  the  same  general 
localities,  and  is  sometimes  used  direct,  and  in  other  cases 
burned  into  lime. 

"With  this  vast  store  of  marls  of  the  three  varieties  underly- 
ing almost  all  the  eastern  counties,  there  should  be  no  diffi- 
culty in  keeping  up  the  productiveness  of  the  soil  in  that  part 
of  the  State,  and  no  difficulty  in  reclaiming  such  lands  as  have 
heretofore  been  exhausted.  Though  they  lack  the  potash,  or 
the  amount  of  potash  found  in  the  green  sand  marls  of  New 
Jersey,  they  contain  more  lime,  by  a  large  proportion,  and 
can  be  put  to  a  greater  variety  of  valuable  uses. 

Extensive  phosphate  marl  beds,  composed  chiefly  of  ani- 
mal remains,  have  recently  been  found  in  South  Carolina, 
and  through  two  or  three  of  the  lower  counties  of  North 
Carolina,  which  form  a  bed  of  bones  and  other  remains  similar 
in  position  to  the  marl  beds,  but  vastly  more  rich  in  fertilizing 
elements.  The  phosphates,  and  particularly  phosphate  of 
lime,  appear  to  be  the  leading  mineral  elements,  and  so  far  as 
they  have  been  developed;  they  justify  high  expectations  as 
to  their  value,  in  reclaiming  the  soils  of  both  States.  In  fact, 
their  wealth  of  fertilizing  elements  is  so  great  as  to  repay 
shipping  to  distant  points  in  other  States.  Three  or  four  of 
the  lower  counties  are  known  to  contain  these  beds  of  animal 
remains,  and  further  inquiry  may  show  that  they  extend  to 
Newbern,  or  beyond.  Very  high  expectations  are  indulged 
as  to  their  value,  as  they  are  now  being  opened  in  the  vicinity 


62  RESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

of  Charleston,  and  from  recent  openings  in  Brunswick  County, 
almost  exactly  the  same  formations  are  disclosed.  Altogether, 
it  does  riot  appear  that  any  part  of  this  State  is  essentially 
deficient  in  the  means  of  fertilizing  and  renewing  soils,  and 
particularly  the  eastern  counties,  with  their  marl  and  muck 
deposits,  aided  by  the  phosphate  beds  of  animal  remains, 
ought  to  be  sustained  in  a  high  condition  of  agricultural 
prosperity. 

Mineral  Springs. 

The  geological  formations  in  North  Carolina  are  highly 
favorable  to  the  development  of  mineral  springs,  particularly 
in  the  central  and  western  counties — and  some  form  of  such 
springs,  including  a  fair  representation  of  the  red  and  white 
sulphur,  the  chalybeate  and  alum,  and  also  of  some  one  of  the 
varieties  of  warm  springs,  will  be  found  in  almost  every 
county. 

The  most  conspicuous  of  these  springs  that  have  attained 
celebrity,  and  have  become  resorts  for  visitors,  are  the  Catawba 
"White  Sulphur,  in  the  north  part  of  Catawba  County;  Wil- 
son's White  and  Ked  Sulphur  Springs  near  Shelby,  in  Cleve- 
land County,  and  the  Piedmont  Springs  in  Burke  County,  fif- 
teen miles  west  of  Morganton.  These  are  east  of  the  Blue 
Ridge  :  and  west  of  it  we  have  the  celebrated  warm  springs 
of  the  French  Broad  River,  35  miles  west  of  Asheville;  the 
Deaver  White  Sulphur  Springs,  five  miles  only  from  Ashe- 
ville, and  the  Million  Springs,  nine  miles  north  of  Asheville. 
There  are  other  springs  in  the  vicinity  of  Asheville,  and  also 
east  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  but  none  so  conspicuous  as  those  men- 
tioned above. 

In  the  eastern  or  northeastern  part  of  the  State  the  long- 
known  Shocco  Springs  of  Warren  County  are  the  most  im- 
portant. They  are  located  nine  miles  from  the  Warrenton 
depot,  of  the  Raleigh  and  Gaston  Railroad.  This  was  for 
many  years  the  most  fashionable  resort  in  the  south,  and  it  still 
deserves  attention.  Jones'  Spring  is  in  the  same  vicinity,  and 
Kittrell's  Spring,  in  Granville  County,  is  another  reputed  to 
be  valuable  for  its  waters.  This  last  is  but  one  mile  from  the 
railroad.     All  these  are  chalybeate  waters,  and  though  less 


RESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  63 

attractive  now  than  the  sulphur  springs  of  the  western  part 
of  the  State,  are  highly  valued  bj  all  who  have  used  the 
waters  for  many  forms  of  ill-health  requiring  tonic  treatment. 

The  springs  of  the  Catawba  are  well  fitted  up  and  much 
frequented  as  fashionable  resorts.  The  Shelby,  or  Wilson's 
White  and  Eed  Sulphur,  of  Cleveland  County,  said  to  be  the 
finest  spring  of  its  kind  in  the  world,  is  easily  reached  by  the 
new  railroad  from  Charlotte  by  way  of  Lincolnton,  which  is 
now  completed  nearly  to  Shelby.  It  is  also  accessible  from 
the  south  by  way  of  Yorkville  or  Spartansburg,  South  Caro- 
lina. The  Catawba  White  Sulphur  in  the  north  part  of  Ca- 
tawba County,  is  near  the  railroad  from  Salisbury  to  Morgan- 
ton.  Both  these  are  celebrated  resorts,  with  white  and  red  sul- 
phur, and  chalybeate  waters  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  and  they 
are  well  filled  up  for  the  reception  of  visitors.  There  are 
also,  near  Shelby,  the  less  known  springs  called  McBrier's 
and  Patterson's.  These  are  all  in  no  respect  inferior  to  the 
best  Virginia  sulphur  springs. 

The  Piedmont  Springs  of  Burke  County  are  well  worth 
visiting  because  of  the  various  attractions  of  scenery,  water- 
falls, the  celebrated  Table  Rock,  &c.  There  are  also  chaly- 
beate springs  in  Stokes  County  called  "Piedmont  Springs," 
which  are  much  resorted  to.  They  are  near  the  celebrated 
Pilot  Mountain. 

West  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  near  Asheville,  are  very  attractive 
sulphur  springs,  much  praised  by  Colton,  in  his  "Mountain 
Scenery  of  North  Carolina."  The  town  of  Asheville,  and  all 
in  its  vicinity,  are  highly  eulogized  by  all  who  have  written 
in  regard  to  that  part  of  the  State ;  and  particularly  by  Colton 
in  the  work  above  cited,  and  by  Lanrnan,  in  his  "  Alleghany 
Mountains."  At  the  Warm  Springs,  on  the  French  Broad 
below  Asheville,  there  are  "more  attractions  to  the  seeker  of 
pleasure,  leaving  out  of  view  the  invalid,  than  probably  at 
any  other  watering  place  in  the  south," — so  writes  one  visitor 
in  1858.  The  temperature  of  the  water  varies  from  98°  to  102°, 
and  a  great  variety  of  mineralized  waters  abound  in  springs  of 
the  vicinity.  "  The  Warm  Springs  are  annually  visited  by  a 
large  number  of  fashionable  and  health-seeking  people  from 


64  KESOUKCES   OF   NORTH  CAROLINA. 

all  the  Southern  States.  .  .  .  As  a  resort  they  have  no  supe- 
rior in  any  State." — (Golton.) 

Watering-Places  of  the  Atlantic  Coast. 

"We  cannot  leave  the  subject  without  referring  to  the  several 
localities  along  the  coast  which  have  already  been  more  or  less 
occupied  as  watering-places  and  summer  resorts.  At  Smith  - 
ville,  the  outlet  of  Cape  Fear  River,  there  is  a  fine  beach  on 
the  broad  salt  water  bay,  and  many  historical  as  well  as  pic- 
turesque attractions  are  within  easy  reach.  Masonboro  Sound, 
on  the  coast  in  front  of  Wilmington,  also  has  a  fine  beach  ; 
as  have  Middle  Sound,  and  Wrightsville  Sound,  in  the  same 
vicinity. 

At  Beaufort,  the  terminus  of  the  railroad  from  Raleigh  and 
JSTewbern,  there  are  fine  facilities  for  sea  bathing,  and  the  beach 
is  much  resorted  to.  Carolina  City  is  a  point  on  the  beach 
south  of  Newbern. 

The  peculiar  lakes  of  the  low  country  near  the  coast  are 
places  of  winter  resort,  both  for  health  and  for  sporting. 
Waccamaw  Lake,  at  a  point  on  the  railroad  thirty-four  miles 
west  of  Wilmington,  is  visited  by  invalids  in  winter,  and  at 
Flemington  Station  there  is  a  well-kept  house  for  visitors.  The 
severity  of  winter  cold  is  greatly  modified  at  these  locations, 
without  the  roughness  of  the  open  sea-shore.  The  finest  of 
these  lakes  have  a  clear  sand  beach  and  perfectly  pure  waters, 
rendering  them  healthy  and  attractive  as  resorts,  while  they 
abound  with  vast  numbers  of  wild  fowl  at  that  season.  Wac- 
camaw Lake,  thirty  miles  from  Wilmington,  is  eight  or  ten 
miles  in  length  and  six  miles  wide,  nearly.  Further  north, 
between  Beaufort  and  Newbern,  there  are  three  or  four  of 
these  lakes,  the  largest  being  Catfish  Lake  and  Great  Lake. 
In  Hyde  County  is  the  celebrated  Matamuskeet  Lake,  the 
largest  of  all,  and  surrounded  by  much  fine  cultivation.  Alli- 
gator Lake  is  in  the  same  county,  and  on  its  northern  border 
are  Phelps  and  Pungo  Lakes.  Drummond  Lake  of  the  Dis- 
mal Swamp  is  just  at  the  Virginia  line. 

"We  shall  refer  to  these  lakes  and  the  adjacent  salt  water 
sounds  in  some  notices  of  the  fisheries  and  fowl  shooting, 


EESOURCES   OF   NORTH   CAROLINA.  65 

which  have  become  a  regular  and  profitable  business  of  the 
whole  line  of  coast  in  North  Carolina. 


Mountain  Scenery. 

The  mountains  of  North  Carolina  have  long  been  objects 
of  attraction  to  scientific  men  in  consequence  of  the  interest 
felt  in  them  as  the  highest  elevations  in  the  United  States  east 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  of  the  important  bearing  they  have  on 
various  questions  in  physical  science.  They  have  been  less 
known  to  tourists  and  pleasure  seekers  than  they  deserve  to 
be,  not  only  for  the  general  attractions  of  mountain  scenery, 
but  for  peculiar  features  that  make  them  very  conspicuous. 
They  are  the  highest  mountains  of  the  whole  Alleghany  chain, 
the  highest  peak  exceeding  the.  height  of  Mount  Washington 
about  700  feet ;  Clingman's  peak  being  6941  feet,  and  Mount 
Washington  6226  feet  high.  Mount  Mitchell,  for  some  years 
supposed  to  be  the  highest  peak,  is  6732  feet.  The  Eoan 
mountain  is  6306  feet,  and  the  general  average  of  the  Roan 
and  Yellow  Mountains,  in  Mitchell  County,  is  over  6000  feet. 
Southwest  of  these,  in  Hayward  and  Jackson  counties,  the 
Balsam  Mountains  are  fully  as  high,  the  high  chain  of  the 
Balsam  averaging  6000  feet  and  the  Eichland  Balsam  being 
6225  feet  high.  The  researches  of  Prof.  Mitchell,  Prof.  Guyot, 
and  Senator  Clingman  have  shown  that  there  are  more  than 
twenty  peaks  rising  much  above  6000  feet,  and  that  the  whole 
mass  of  these  mountains  far  surpasses  all  others  east  of  the 
Eocky  Mountains  in  magnitude.  They  were  from  valleys  or 
plains  already  more  than  2000  feet  above  the  sea,  and  consti- 
tute half  a  dozen  distinct  chains,  most  of  which  run  from  the 
Blue  Ridge  across  the  valleys  to  the  Alleghany  range,  called 
the  Iron  or  Great  Smoky  Eange,  which  forms  the  western 
boundary  of  the  State. 

All  this  region  of  lofty  mountains  is  easily  reached  from 
Morganton,  to  which  point  the  railroad  is  already  built,  and 
by  Swananoa  gap  to  Asheville.  On  the  north  of  this  gap  are 
the  lofty  Black  Mountains,  with  Mitchell's  and  Clingman's 
Peaks,  and  in  the  same  line,  further  north,  the  Eoan  and  Yel- 
low Mountains  are  the  great  feature.     These  are  in  Mitchell 


66  RESOURCES   OF   NORTH   CAROLINA. 

County.  Southwest  are  the  lofty  Balsam  Mountains,  south  of 
the  French  Broad  and  of  the  Big  Pigeon  River.  These  are 
difficult  of  access,  yet  almost  as  high  as  the  Black  Mountains 
north  of  Swananoa.  Prof.  Guyot  recently  describes  some  of 
these  peaks,  which  are  reached  from  Sevierville,  Tennessee, 
through  a  "road  gap"  itself  5,271  feet  above  the  sea.  Near 
this  gap  is  the  Bull  Head  Mountain,  or  Triple  Mountain,  6636 
feet  high;  and  but  a  short  distance  from  it,  six  miles  south- 
westward  of  the  gap,  is  "  Smoky  Dome,"  or  Clingman's  Moun- 
tain, 6660  feet  high.  The  chains  and  peaks  of  this  vicinity 
are  usually  known  as  the  Balsam  Mountains,  a  distinction 
given  because  of  the  dense  forests  of  balsam  firs  with  which 
they  are  covered  to  their  very  summits. 

This  peculiarity  of  the  mountain  summits  is  noticeable  over 
all  the  high  ranges.  They  are  always  clothed  with  forests, 
and  several  of  the  highest  ranges  have  the  dense  black  forest 
of  balsam  firs,  so  often  referred  to,  and  very  rare,  if  not  wholly 
unknown,  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  They  are  therefore 
conspicuous  and  novel  features  of  American  scenery,  which 
persons  of  leisure  or  research  should  not  fail  to  see.  Their 
surroundings  are  also  particularly  romantic  and  full  of  in- 
terest. The  road  by  which  they  are  approached  passes  Old 
Fort,  a  celebrated  fort  long  before  the  Revolution,  maintained 
as  a  protection  against  the  Indians.  It  is  in  the  upper  valley 
of  the  Catawba,  in  McDowell  County,  a  few  miles  from  Swa- 
nanoa Gap  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  This  mountain  region  may  also 
be  readily  reached  by  way  of  the  Tennessee  Valley,  and  the 
railroads  on  that  side,  taking  a  good  road  up  the  valley  of  the 
French  Broad  River  to  Asheville. 

A  pleasant  book  of  reference  to  mountain  scenery  in  this 
State  will  be  found  in  Colton's  "  Scenery  of  the  Mountains 
of  Western  North  Carolina,"  which,  although  printed  in 
1859,  is  very  fresh  and  applicable  to  the  present  state  of 
things.  The  great  attractions  of  the  Pilot  Mountain  and  its 
vicinity,  and  more  particularly  of  the  magnificent  scenery 
of  Burke  and  Caldwell  Counties  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and 
Mitchell,  Yancey,  and  Buncombe  Counties,  on  the  west,  ad- 
joining, would  require  much  space  to  describe.  The  cele- 
brated Falls  of   the    Linville  River,  with    the  surrounding 


EESOUECES    OF    NORTH    CAROLINA.  67 

cliffs  and  peaks,  Table  Bock,  Hawksbill,  and  others,  are  un- 
equalled for  wild  and  picturesque  grandeur.  And  north  of 
Swananoa  gap  the  whole  lofty  group  of  the  Black  Mountain 
peaks  is  close  at  hand,  forming  not  only  the  highest  moun- 
tains east  of  the  Mississippi,  but  by  far  the  most  attractive  as 
novelties  to  a  visitor. 

Linville  Falls. 

Among  the  attractions  of  the  State  there  should  be  noticed 
more  at  length  some  of  the  conspicuous  falls  of  the  mountain 
region,  chief  among  which,  probably,  are  the  Linville  Falls 
already  mentioned.  They  are  on  the  Linville  Eiver,  as  it  leaves 
the  mountains,  twenty-eight  miles  from  Morganton,  and  five 
miles  from  Childsville,  near  the  northwestern  corner  of 
Burke  County.  There  are  several  broken  cascades  of  various 
heights,  ending  in  one  of  more  than  100  feet  perpendicular 
fall.  The  scenery  in  the  vicinity  is  remarkable,  the  river 
being  bordered  for  some  distance  by  cliffs  of  enormous  height, 
in  some  cases  more  than  1200  feet.  Below  the  falls  are  va- 
rious cliffs,  named  Table  Eock,  Hawksbill,  Bynum's  Bluff, 
Ginger- cake  Eocks,  Chimney  Bocks,  etc.  Between  Hawks- 
bill  and  Table  Eock  the  bed  of  the  Linville  Eiver  is  1200  feet 
in  perpendicular  descent  below  their  summits.  Colton,  Lan- 
man,  and  several  other  writers  have  eulogized  the  scenes  of 
the  vicinity  of  Linville  Falls  in  the  highest  terms. 

As  the  road  to  Morganton  is  now  so  easy,  that  pleasant 
town  can  be  made  a  point  of  departure  to  the  Linville  Eiver, 
to  Grandfather  Mountain  on  the  north ;  to  North  Cove,  a  re- 
markable place,  a  few  miles  directly  west  of  Linville ;  and  to 
the  great  peaks  of  the  Black  Mountains  of  Mitchell  County, 
still  but  five  or  six  miles  farther  directly  west.  This  road  is 
quite  as  short  and  easy  as  any  other  to  those  celebrated 
mountains. 

Mitchell  Falls,  located  on  the  eastern  slope  of  Blue  Eidge, 
near  the  Hickory  ISTut  Gap  road,  is  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
fully picturesque  scenes  to  be  found  on  this  continent.  The 
water  falls  over  a  solid  rock  three  hundred  feet  high ;  trick- 
ling down  its  sides,  empties  itself  into  three  large  pools,  and 


68  RESOURCES   OF   NORTH   CAROLINA. 

from  thence  down  the  mountain  sides.     The  pools  are  clear 
as  crystal;  no  bottom  has  ever  been  found  to  them. 

Of  places  of  interest  properly  belonging  in  the  description 
of  mountain  scenery,  Flat  Eock,  in  Hudson  County,  and  south 
of  Hickory  Nut  Gap,  is  a  picturesque  place;  and  on  the  east 
foot  of  the  Blue  Eidge,  in  the  same  vicinity,  is  an  attractive 
place  called  Pleasant  Gardens. 

Rivers,  Falls,  and  Water-Power. 

The  rivers  of  North  Carolina  drain  large  areas  in  each  case, 
the  greater  breadth  of  the  country  east  of  the  Blue  Eidge 
giving  them  a  long  sweep  from  the  mountain  ranges  in  which 
they  rise,  before  reaching  the  sea.  The  Eoanoke  drains,  at 
its  sources  as  the  Ban,  four  or  five  counties  in  North  Caro- 
lina, and  as  many  in  Virginia,  before  it  finally  leaves  the 
State  in  Caswell  County  to  make  a  long  detour  in  Yirginia, 
returning  to  North  Carolina  again  above  "Weldon  and  Gaston. 
The  Dan  Eiver  alone  is  important/furnishing  both  water 
transportation  and  water  power  in  Stokes  and  Eockingham 
Counties.  Iron  works,  tobacco-manufacturing,  and  shipping, 
are  the  principal  industries  here,  their  general  market  being 
at  Danville,  just  across  the  line  of  Virginia.  At  the  junction 
of  the  Staunton  Eiver  it  becomes  the  Eoanoke,  which  has 
shoals  and  rapids  for  some  twenty  miles  of  its  course,  affording 
abundant  water  power  at  Gaston  and  Weldon.  Prof.  Emmons 
says  that  "  the  falls  of  the  Eoanoke,  at  Weldon,  furnish  a 
large  water  power,  in  part  occupied,  but  capable  of  moving  a 
much  greater  amount  of  machinery."  A  canal  around  the 
falls  connects  the  navigation  of  the  upper  part  of  the  river. 
The  fall  at  Weldon  is  fifteen  feet,  and  at  Gaston  there  are 
rapids  which  might  be  improved. 

On  Tar  Eiver  there  are  falls  at  Louisburg,  Franklin 
County ;  at  Taylor's  Mills,  south  of  Nashville,  Nash  County, 
and  at  Eocky  Mount,  where  the  Wilmington  and  Weldon 
Eailroad  crosses. 

The  Neuse  Eiver  is  much  larger,  and  rising  in  a  hilly 
country  some  eight  or  nine  hundred  feet  above  sea  level,  it 
furnished  good  water  power  as  far  up  as  in  Person  County,  at 
Daniels'  Mills;  again  at  Manteo  Mills,  a  few  miles  north  of 


EESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  69 

Raleigh  ;  at  Neuse's  Mills,  six  or  seven  miles  east  of  Raleigh  ; 
at  Watson's  Mills,  20  miles  southeast  of  Raleigh ;  and  at 
Smithfield,  a  little  farther  down,  and  just  below  the  point 
where  the  railroad  from  Goldsboro  crosses. 

The  Cape  Fear  River,  with  its  two  great  branches,  the  Haw 
and  Deep  Rivers,  affords  very  ample  water  power  at  various 
points.  As  low  as  Elizabethtown,  in  Bladen  County,  there  is  a 
slight  fall  of  the  Cape  Fear;  and  at  Smiley's  Falls,  in  Harriet 
County,  there  is  a  fall  of  near  30  feet  in  three  miles  over  the 
primitive  rocks  which  mark  the  boundary  of  the  low  country. 
The  Buckhorn  Falls  are  25  miles  farther  up  the  river,  at  the 
line  of  Chatham  County.  Here  the  river  falls  14  feet  in  two 
rapids,  affording  ample  power.  A  few  miles  farther  up  is 
Haywood,  at  the  junction  of  the  Deep  and  Haw  Rivers. 
Taking  the  Haw  first,  Ave  find  it  crowded  with  falls,  there 
being  20  mill  sites  in  a  distance  of  60  miles.  Of  the  well- 
known  mills  on  and  near  the  Haw,  there  are  Hadley's,  Ruf- 
fin's,  Holt's,  Curtis's,  and  the  High  Falls  Factory ;  all  but  the 
first  named  being  in  Alamance  County.  Emmons  states  that 
the  lowest  fall  on  the  Haw,  of  ten  feet  in  the  two  miles  above 
its  mouth  at  Haywood,  has  capacity  to  drive  25,000  spindles, 
and  that  the  power  of  the  river,  as  a  whole,  is  equal  to 
500,000  spindles.  It  also  runs  through  a  rich  country, 
"  cotton  and  wheat  are  the  staples  of  the  lower  half  of  its 
course,  and  tobacco  of  the  upper." 

The  Deep  River  branch  is  scarcely  inferior  to  the  Haw  in 
water-power  capacity.  At  Jones' Falls,  just  above  Haywood, 
there  is  a  fine  water  power,  the  fall  being  24  feet  in  3000,  or 
little  more  than  half  a  mile.  This  point  is  now  called  Lock- 
ville.  For  20  miles  or  more  beyond  this  point,  through 
the  Deep  River  coal-field,  there  is  little  or  no  fall ;  but 
above  that  there  are  five — Farr's  Mills  and  Dixon's  Mills  in 
Moore  County,  and  in  Randolph  County,  Brown's,  Mofnt's, 
Tryon's,  and  many  other  mills,  there  being,  in  addition,  six 
mills  or  mill  sites  at  and  near  Franklinsville,  in  as  many 
miles.  Emmons  declares  that  these  six  sites  have  a  capacity 
to  drive  35,000  spindles  at  the  lowest  stages  of  water.  The 
Deep  River  district  is  rich  in  cotton  and  grain,  and  its  upper 
part  runs  through  the  best  mining  districts  of  the  State,  the 
6 


70  RESOURCES   OF   NORTH   CAROLINA. 

group  of  gold,  copper,  and  iron  mines  in  Guilford  County, 
south  and  west  of  Greensboro.  Little  River,  a  tributary  of 
the  Cape  Fear,  in  Cumberland  County,  has  sufficient  fall  at 
two  or  three  places  to  afford  mill  sites,  the  most  important 
being  Elliott's  Mills,  ten  or  fifteen  miles  north  of  Fayetteville. 

The  Yadkin  is  the  next  great  river ;  below  the  North  Caro- 
lina line  it  forms  the  great  Pedee.  The  Yadkin  sweeps 
almost  all  over  the  State,  its  upper  waters  running  northeast  for 
50  miles  in  Caldwell  and  Wilkes  ;  then  east  for  50  miles  more 
through  Wilkes  and  Yadkin  Counties,  to  a  point  not  20  miles 
from  the  Virginia  line,  called  East  Bend,  where  it  turns  sud- 
denly south,  to  go  through  the  State  toward  the  sea.  Its 
whole  length  in  North  Carolina  Emmons  gives  as  350  miles. 
Ckeraw,  in  South  Carolina,  is  the  head  of  steamboat  naviga- 
tion, but  barges  can  be  taken  up  as  far  as  the  Narrows  in  the 
northeast  corner  of  Stanley  County.  From  a  point  five  miles 
above  the  Narrows  it  is  practicable  to  make  it  navigable  for 
150  miles  to  Wilkesboro,  Wilkes  County.  There  is  little 
water  power  available  below  the  rapids  at  the  Narrows,  but  for 
ten  or  fifteen  miles  above  this  point  there  is  the  best  oppor- 
tunity to  employ  the  great  body  of  water.  At  Milledgeville, 
or  Burredge  Factory,  there  is  a  fall  of  13  feet,  and  a  rapid 
still  above  this  having  nearly  the  same  fall.  One  mile  below 
Milledgeville  is  another  rapid  having  13  feet  fall,  and  yet 
another  at  the  head  of  the  Narrows  (Emmons).  At  Trading- 
Ford,  nearly  up  to  the  railroad  crossing  to  Salisbury,  Em- 
mons insists  that  there  is  a  most  valuable  site  for  a  manufac- 
turing town.  In  the  upper  portions  of  the  river  there  are 
many  other  natural  sites  for  water  power,  and  all  the  tributa- 
ries afford  the  usual  local  mill  sites.  The  South  Yadkin  is 
the  best  of  these,  and  is  really  a  valuable  manufacturing 
stream,  having  a  fall  of  22  feet  at  a  locality  highly  favorable 
to  erecting  mills  and  factories.  One  is  now  erected  at  the 
junction  of  Rocky  Creek,  and  a  number  of  mills  are  found  in 
the  vicinity.  The  falls  of  the  South  Yadkin  are  five  or  six 
miles  above  its  mouth,  and  about  10  miles  north  of  Salisbury. 
Valuable  beds  of  iron  ore  are  in  the  vicinity,  and  it  is  also  a 
rich  agricultural  region. 

The  Catawba  is,  however,  the  most  remarkable  river  for 


RESOURCES   OF  NORTH   CAROLINA.  71 

the  water  power  it  affords,  taken  in  connection  with  its  tribu- 
taries, the  Little  Catawba,  Broad  Eiver,  and  Green  Eiver, 
with  Linville,  and  other  of  its  upper  branches.  From 
Tuckasege  Ford  upward,  the  main  river,  for  many  miles,  is  a 
succession  of  rapids,  available  for  power,  the  principal  one 
being  at  the  Horse  Shoe  Bend,  in  the  northeastern  part  of 
Gaston  County.  A  short  distance  below  this' bend,  at  Moun- 
tain Island,  is  a  fall  of  22  feet,  affording  a  power  already 
improved  by  the  erection  of  a  cotton  factory.  At  the  Horse 
Shoe  Bend  the  fall  is  32  feet,  in  a  circuit  which  brings  the 
two  extremities  of  the  bend  within  one  mile  of  each  other. 
Emmons  states  (Kept,  of  1856)  that  the  river  is  here  600  feet 
wide,  and  that  a  permanent  mill  race  can  be  formed,  100  feet 
wide,  4  feet  deep,  and  one  mile  long,  by  the  construction  of  a 
wins:  dam  in  the  main  river.  He  further  claims  that  this 
water  "power  would  be  peculiarly  favored  as  a  manufacturing 
location,  in  consequence  of  its  safety  from  freshets,  its  health- 
fulness  and  conveniences  for  the  erection  of  buildings,  and  its 
accessibility  to  other  points,  and  to  materials  for  use  of  any 
works  to  be  erected.  It  is  claimed  that  the  river  above  may 
easily  be  made  navigable,  and  may  be  employed  for  the 
transportation  of  ores,  raw  cotton,  or  any  required  materials. 
In  Emmons'  Geological  Eeport  for  1856  will  be  found  much 
more  in  explanation  of  the  great  advantages  of  this  series  of 
rapids  at  and  below  the  Bend,  the  author  of  that  report  claim- 
ing that  a  great  manufacturing  city  will  ultimately  be  located 
there.  At  SherrilPs  Ford  of  the  Catawba,  in  Catawba  County,, 
there  are  other  falls  ample  for  use  as  water  power ;  and  still 
above,  at  frequent  intervals  to  Morganton,  there  are  many 
others.  The  railroad  recently  completed  traverses  the  valley 
of  the  Catawba  here  for  a  long  distance,  affording  convenient 
and  cheap  access  to  any  point.  And  the  Linville  Eiver,  as 
its  chief  upper  tributary,  abounds  in  mill  sites,  as  it  descends 
from  the  flanks  of  the  Blue  Eidge.  The  Little  Catawba  is 
much  praised  by  Prof.  Emmons  and  others,  for  its  available 
water  power,  almost  every  part  of  it  falling  with  so  much 
rapidity  as  to  afford  a  constant  succession  of  mill  sites.  The 
most  noted  of  these  is  the  High  Shoal  of  the  Catawba,  as  it  is 
called,  where  the  river  falls  23  feet  over  a  bed  of  gneiss.. 


72  RESOURCES   OF   NORTH   CAROLINA. 

Attached  to  the  water  power  is  an  extensive  property  known 
as  the  High  Shoal  property,  which  originally  embraced  ten 
square  miles  of  land,  with  many  gold,  copper,  and  iron  mines. 
Iron  made  here  is  of  the  best  quality,  and  there  are  a  number 
of  cotton  factories,  woolen  mills,  and  iron  works  along  the 
river  to  a  point  above  Lincolnton.  To  show  how  much  the 
water  power  of  the  Catawba  and  its  tributaries  was  developed 
in  1860,  we  cite  from  the  census  the  number  of  cotton  and 
woolen  mills,  iron  works,  and  other  power  mills  returned  for 
six  counties  in  which  the  river  lies : — ■ 


Value 

No. 

Men. 

Women. 

of  goods  made 

Cotton  mills 

.      11 

92 

279 

$210,632 

Woolen  mills   . 

.       6 

55 

63 

150,800 

Iron  works 

.     12 

59 

63,900 

Flouring  mills 

.     88 

95 

526,510 

Saw  mills 

.     19 

26 

28,550 

Several  of  these  establishments  were  large,  ranking  with 
factories  of  the  larger  class,  and  the  facilities  for  establishing 
such  factories  are  evidently  ample.  Prof.  Emmons,  in  his 
report  of  1856,  says  what  is  far  more  forcible  in  its  applica- 
tion to  the  present  state  of  affairs  there : — 

"  The  climate  of  North  Carolina  is  well  adapted  to  the  manufacture  of 
cotton  in  all  its  branches.  The  cost  of  maintaining  laborers  is  much  less 
than  in  New  England.  Fuel  is  plenty,  its  growth  rapid,  and  into  what- 
ever channel  a  manufacturing  spirit  may  be  turned,  it  has  the  most  flatter- 
ing prospects  of  success.  It  is  not  now,  as  in  former  years,  when  ways  to 
market  were  unopened.  Then  the  utmost  that  could  be  done  was  confined 
to  the  immediate  section  of  country  in  which  they  were  located.  As  it  is, 
this  home  market  will  be  retained,  while  the  markets  upon  the  sea-board 
may  be  competed  for  with  every  reason  to  expect  success  ;  for  the  interior 
of  North  Carolina  can  manufacture  goods  cheaper,  by  far,  than  New 
England  or  New  York.  Her  natural  advantages  put  her  upon  vantage 
ground,  and  it  only  requires  enterprise,  and  the  application  of  that  capital 
which  she  now  has  invested  out  of  her  territory,  to  place  her  among  the 
foremost  of  the  manufacturing  States." 

Quoting  farther  from  that  report,  we  find  the  following- 
allusions.  Impressed  with  the  advantages  offered  to  the  in- 
vestment of  capital  in  bringing  this  cheap  power,  cheap  labor, 
and  cheap  materials  together,  he  says : — 

"  When  the  whole  field  is  brought  in  review,  all  must  admit  that  this 
most  important  power  is  distributed  over  the  midland  counties  in  such  a 
way  as  to  give  to  each  section  a  participation  in  all  the  advantages  which 


RESOURCES   OF   NORTH   CAROLINA.  73 

a  power  of  that  kind  is  capable  of  conferring.  While  the  rivers  and  their 
tributaries  "water  the  soil  and  render  it  productive,  they  still  furnish  a  sur- 
plus not  only  for  the  every-day  wants  of  man  to  prepare  his  lumber  and 
grind  his  grain  for  domestic  consumption,  but  enough  also  for  manufactur- 
ing the  cotton  and  the  ores  for  a  home  or  a  distant  market.  An  inspection 
of  a  map  of  North  Carolina  shows  a  very  advantageous  distribution  of  the 
rivers.  East  of  the  Blue  Ridge  it  is  traversed  obliquely  by  seven  large 
rivers,  all  of  which  interlock  with  each  other.  Even  the  hilly  and  moun- 
tainous New  England  cannot  claim  a  larger  and  more  advantageous  supply 
for  the  promotion  of  agriculture  and  the  arts.  New  England  has  not 
suffered  her  advantages  to  go  to  waste.  North  Carolina  has  been  too  quiet 
and  too  indifferent  to  her  advantages  ;  but  the  time  of  her  indifference  is 
past." 

We  may  properly  mention  here  some  of  the  advantages 
which  works  driven  by  water-power  would  possess,  in  compa- 
rison with  Massachusetts,  and  the  greater  part  of  New  York. 
In  North  Carolina  the  whole  year  would  be  available  for 
active  business,  and  the  winter,  which  so  often  obstructs,  if  it 
does  not  wholly  stop  work  at  the  north,  would  be  an  uninter- 
rupted season  of  activity.  The  rivers  would  be  full,  without 
being  frozen,  and  the  bracing  temperature  and  longer  daylight 
would  make  the  management  of  a  large  factory  much  more 
successful  at  that  season.  Iron  ores,  which  cannot  be  mined 
and  hauled  for  six  months  in  northern  New  York,  can  be 
handled  in  any  way  desired,  probably,  on  every  day  of  the 
winter;  certainly  there  could  be  very  few  and  slight  inter- 
ruptions of  this  season  of  activity.  And  in  summer,  the  heat 
is  little,  if  at  all,  greater  than  in  New  York  or  Pennsylvania. 
It  is  not  probable  that  the  season  would  ever  be  interrupted, 
or,  at  least,  that  these  factories  can  be  worked  as  nearly  the 
entire  year  as  in  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland.  Winter  work 
in  mines  and  iron  works  is  particularly  desirable,  and  greatly 
facilitates  the  business  of  a  year  in  such  establishments. 
There  is  no  State  where  beds  of  magnetic  iron  ore  are  found 
of  such  magnitude,  that  admits  winter  work  fully,  New  Jersey 
being  the  best,  but  yet  having  very  severe  winter  weather. 

Power  Manufacturing  in  North  Carolina. 

The  extent  of  the  manufacturing  driven  by  power,  and 
chiefly  by  water-power,  was  very  considerable  in  1860,  and  we 
give  the  following  results  of  the  census  of  that  year,  to  show 


74  RESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

how  much,  under  the  state  of  things  then  prevailing,  could 
be  done.  At  present  everything  invites,  not  only  to  the  re- 
newal of  all  that  has  heretofore  existed,  but  to  an  application 
of  capital  and  skill  to  the  improvement  of  the  natural  advan- 
tages. Power  is  cheap,  first;  and  next,  raw  materials  and 
labor  are  cheap — indeed,  all  these  are  available  at  half  the 
aggregate  cost  of  working  a  mill  in  New  England,  and,  when 
put  in  motion,  more  can  be  done  with  them,  in  consequence 
of  the  favorable  climate. 

It  is  impossible  to  say  that  all  the  classes  of  mills  here 
named  were  driven  by  water  power,  without  the  use  of  steam. 
Probably  quite  a  number  had  some  proportion  of  steam- 
power,  yet  not  to  anything  like  the  extent  that  would  have 
been  required  in  any  northern  State.  In  1860,  there  were 
the  following  numbers  of  mills,  persons  employed,  and  aggre- 
gates of  production  in  certain  leading  manufactures : — 


Capital  invested. 

Employed.        Value  of  Produc 

Men. 

Women. 

Cotton  mills  .     .     .     . 

39 

$1,272,750 

440 

1315 

$1,046,047 

Copper  mines    .     .     . 

2 

80,000 

210 

10 

105,000 

Flour  mills   .... 

639 

1,719,823 

814 

3 

4,354,309 

Gold  mines   .... 

9 

224,200 

396 

6 

97,199 

Iron  works   .... 

25 

55,500. 

129 

— 

99,656 

Saw  and  planing  mills 

335 

780,420 

1096 

11 

1,165,003 

Machinery,  steam 

6 

455,846 

142 

— 

116,050 

Woolen  mills     .     .     . 

28 

242,000 

137 

140 

331,133 

Paper  mills        .     .     . 

6 

121,850 

54 

35 

165,703 

Oil  mills        .     .    ,     . 

7 

11,400 

10 

— 

18,000 

Rice  mills      .     .     .     . 

10 
1106 

14,700 

18 
3446 

23 
1543 

86,926 

$4,978,489 

$7,585,126 

The  number  of  these  establishments  is  greater  than  the 
proper  proportion  for  the  capital  invested,  or  value  of  pro- 
duct, and  probably  the  present  condition  of  the  State  repre- 
sents the  same  disproportion  in  even  a  greater  degree.  The 
largest  cotton  factories  are  distributed  through  the  following 
named  counties :  five  in  Alamance  County,  on  the  Haw  Eiver ; 
one  in  Cabarrus  County,  on  Rocky  River;  one  in  Caldwell, 
on  Linville  River ;  two  in  Catawba,  on  Catawba  River ;  one 
in  Cleveland,  on  the  First  Broad;    one  in  Craven,  on  the 


RESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  75 

Neuse ;  seven  in  Cumberland,  mostly  at  Fayetteville,  on  the 
Cape  Fear,  which  employed  122  men  and  367  women,  repre- 
senting an  invested  capital  of  $287,000 ;  one  in  Edgecombe, 
on  Tar  River;  Forsyth  County  has  one  large  cotton  factory, 
employing  54  persons,  and  one  woolen  factory,  employing  55 
persons,  both  located  at  Salem ;  Gaston  County  has  three  cot- 
ton factories,  on  the  Little  Catawba,  with  a  capital  of  $133,000, 
and  employing  205  persons ;  Iredell  has  two,  employing  53 
persons ;  Lincoln  County  one,  with  27  persons  employed ; 
Mecklenberg  with  one  cotton  mill,  working  17  persons,  and 
a  woolen  mill,  working  85  persons ;  Orange  County  one, 
employing  50  persons  ;  Randolph  County  five,  employing  223 
persons,  and  making  $149,486  in  value  of  goods ;  Rocking- 
ham County  one,  employing  105  persons  ;  Richmond  one, 
employing  41  persons ;  Surrey  two,  employing  49  persons. 

General  Development  of  Manufactures. 

What  has  already  been  done  in  manufactures  in  North 
Carolina  is,  at  least,  a  reliable  proof  of  what  may  be  done ; 
and  we  therefore  cite  some  general  facts  from  the  Census  of 
1860,  with  the  assurance  that,  in  spite  of  the  confusion  and 
losses  of  the  past  few  years  in  many  of  these  classes,  the  pre- 
sent condition  of  affairs  is  an  improvement  on  the  figures  here 
given.  The  truth  is  that,  in  many  parts  of  the  State,  unusual 
natural  facilities  for  manufacturing  exist  —  cheap  power, 
cheap  materials,  and  cheap  labor ;  and,  under  such  circum- 
stances, many  works  are  started,  which,  to  be  successful  in 
the  degree  understood  to  mean  success  in  the  Northern  States, 
need  the  strong  hands  of  capitalists,  and  the  direction  of 
skilful  superintendents. 

The  following  leading  classes  of  manufactures  were  re- 
ported in  1860,  excluding  from  the  official  table  some  thirty 
or  forty  small  items. 


76 


RESOURCES    OF   NORTH   CAROLINA. 


Employed.  Value  of 

No.  Capital.  Men.  Women.  product. 

Agricultural  implements 22  $76,250  100  ...  $86,155 

Boot  and  shoe  making 62  68,000  167  9  150,955 

Brick-making 15  62  640  199  6  75,050 

Carriages 92  441,469  656  10  589,839 

Cooperage 49  42,951  125  ...  126,120 

Copper  mining 2  80,000  210  10  105,000 

Cotton  manufactories 39  1,272,750  440  1315  1,046,047 

Fisheries,  shad  and  herring 32  67,312  698  134  117,259 

Flour  and  meal 639  1,719,283  814  3  4,354,309 

Furniture 40  50,170  84  3  72,409 

Gold  mining 9  224,200  396  6  97,199 

Hats,  clothing,  etc 11  3,925  26  ...  33,470 

Iron,  pig,  har,  and  blooms 25  165,250  129  ...  99,656 

Iron  manufactories,  other 63  84,950  174  ...  120,410 

Leather,  tanneries 171  348,959  363  ...  413,364 

Liquors,  distilleries 94  48,563  119  ..  117,282 

Lumber,  sawed  and  planed 335  780,420  1028  11  1,074,003 

Machinery,  steam  engines 6  455,846  142  ...  116,150 

Oils,  linseed  and  rosin 7  11,400  10  ...  18,000 

Paper 6  121,850  54  35  165,703 

Printing,  newspaper  and  book  ...  13  42,050  81  ...  87,950 

Bice  cleaning 10  14,700  18  23  86,926 

Saddlery  and  harness 44  49,629  98  ...  99,593 

Sash,  doors,  and  blinds 5  30,000  38  1  56,900 

Shingles 17  196,960  281  13  97,010 

Ships  and  boats 3  6,900  26  ...  10,100 

Staves,  spokes,  etc 4  6,000  28  ...  18,325 

Tar 28  6,000  45  ...  44,300 

Turpentine,  crude 1065  939,448  2010  1  952,542 

Turpentine,  distilled 461  1,113,778  1754  10  4,358,878 

Timber 94  85,423  221  ...  121,093 

Tin,  copper,  and  sheet  iron 15  -    56,870  44  ...  60,374 

Tobacco,  manufactured 97  646,730  1084  277  1,117,099 

Wagons  and  carts 48  42,900  144  ...  82,650 

Woolen  goods 28  242,900  137  140  331,133 

Totals  (including smaller  items)    3689       $9,693,603        12,106         2111     $16,678,698 

These  are  very  creditable  aggregates,  and  they  show  a  large 
amount  of  manufacturing  industry  in  the  sea-board  counties, 
where  turpentine,  lumber,  shingles,  rice,  and  other  products 
of  those  counties  abound.  In  these  establishments  steam 
power  is  much  employed,  and  with  the  recent  changes  and 
improvements  going  on  in  those  counties,  a  much  larger 
amount  of  steam  power  will  be  employed.  Fuel  being  cheap, 
and  the  transportation  of  steam  machinery  easy,  a  mill  for 
cutting  timber  and  lumber  can  be  placed  where  the  timber  is 
most  abundant,  the  finished  products  being  then  brought,  by 


EESOUECES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  77 

water  or  rail,  to  the  most  convenient  shipping  point.  Exten- 
sive manufactures  of  wooden  wares,  staves,  etc.  of  the  very 
valuable  cedar,  cypress,  and  pine  of  the  coast  counties,  will 
inevitably  spring  up.  These  are  already  in  progress  near 
Wilmington,  in  the  hands  of  the  Green  Swamp  Lumber  Com- 
pany. 

Tobacco  Manufacture. — In  the  interior  two  or  three 
classes  of  hand-labor  factories  have  a  fair  degree  of  promi- 
nence, particularly  tobacco  factories,  tanneries,  and  distille- 
ries. Tobacco  was  manufactured  in  1860  to  the  value  of 
$1,117,099;  and,  at  the  present  time,  while  the  quantity  is 
less,  probably,  the  increase  in  value  renders  the  total  as  great 
as  then.  Tobacco  is  not  so  largely  cultivated  as  it  was  for- 
merly, yet  in  many  counties,  among  which,  in  1867,  Franklin, 
Davis,  and  Person  are  named  in  the  reports  of  the  Agricul- 
tural Departments,  tobacco  is  still  a  leading  product.  The 
manufacturing  establishments  existing  in  1860  were  princi- 
pally in  Rockingham,  Granville,  Stokes,  Caswell,  Davie,  Sur- 
rey, and  two  or  three  other  counties,  showing  that  the  chief 
business  of  the  State  in  tobacco  is  in  the  counties  near  the 
border  of  Virginia.  The  Dan  River  Valley,  and  other  tribu- 
taries of  the  Roanoke,  appear  to  be  the  favorite  localities  for 
tobacco  cultivation. 

Tanneries  are  numerous  and  important  as  local  manufac- 
tures, but  none  appear  of  magnitude  sufficient  to  provide 
leather  for  export  out  of  the  State.  They  are  quite  equally 
distributed  among  the  interior  and  western  counties,  oak  bark 
being  abundant  and  cheap.  The  addition  of  sumac,  prepared 
from  the  native  sumac  of  Virginia  and  all  adjacent  States,  is 
now  being  made  in  nearly  all  the  markets ;  and  this  would 
form  a  valuable  resource  for  exportation,  as  well  as  for  local 
use.  In  1860  there  were  171  tanneries,  producing  leather  to 
the  value  of  $413,364. 

Turpentine  manufactures,  though  found  in  many  coun- 
ties, are  chiefly  in  Bladen,  New  Hanover,  Cumberland, 
Craven,  and  Duplin  Counties ;  in  New  Hanover  alone  there 
were,  in  1860,  332  establishments,  for  both  crude  and  dis- 
tilled, producing  $897,887  in  value.  Four  turpentine  distil- 
ling establishments  in  this  county  made  $716,600  in  value. 


78  RESOURCES   OF   NORTH   CAROLINA. 

The  production  centering  about  Wilmington,  and  in  the 
counties  above  it  on  the  Cape  Fear  River,  is  four-fifths  of  the 
entire  product  of  the  State.  The  greater  facilities  for  trans- 
portation, and  the  standard  market  always  existing  at  Wil- 
mington, concur  in  bringing  the  business  to  this  point. 

Lumber  and  shingles. — In  the  recent  improvements  in- 
augurated in  the  timber-producing  counties  near  the  coast, 
the  manufacture  of  lumber  and  shingles  has  been  system- 
atized, and,  in  many  cases,  placed  in  the  hands  of  energetic 
and  successful  companies.  By  the  aid  of  a  fair  proportion  of 
capital  they  are  able  to  put  a  vigorous  producing  force  at 
work,  and  to  prepare,  for  northern  and  foreign  markets,  from 
$150,000  to  $350,000  in  value  of  shingles,  lumber,  and  timber, 
in  a  year  for  each  company.  The  Green  Swamp  Company, 
with  its  mills  for  cutting  lumber  and  shingles  at  Bolton,  on 
the  railroad,  27  miles  southwest  of  Wilmington,  and  H.  B. 
Short's  undertaking  at  the  head  of  Waccamaw  Lake,  are  the 
most  successful  of  these  establishments,  and  an  illustration  of 
the  facility  with  which  associated  capital  can  make  the  abun- 
dant raw  material  of  these  timber  swamps  profitable. 

It  may  be  convenient  here  to  refer  to  the  price  of  freights 
of  lumber  from  Wilmington  to  northern  cities  as  compared 
with  interior  transportation  from  the  Western  States  to  the 
same  markets.  The  cost  per  thousand  feet  of  ordinary  lum- 
ber, from  Wilmington  to  New  York  or  Philadelphia,  varies 
from  $7  to  $9;  Avhile  from  any  point  on  Lake  Erie  to  New 
York  or  Philadelphia,  the  cost  would  be  about  $100  per  car 
load,  averaging  8000  feet  each.  Not  only  is  the  quality  of 
lumber  better  suited  to  the  general  consumption  of  the  sea- 
board markets,  where  the  demand  for  resinous  pine  increases 
as  its  greater  durability  becomes  more  important,  but  the 
facility  of  production  and  shipment  in  large  quantities  in- 
creases rather  than  diminishes.  The  northern  pine  districts 
waste  rapidly,  and  each  year  become  more  difficult  of  access, 
with  increasing  cost. of  transportation  to  all  the  markets. 


RESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  79 

Cost  of  Labor. 

In  connection  with  the  manufacturing  statements  previous- 
ly given,  should  follow  some  account  of  the  cost  of  labor, 
which  is  the  chief  power,  after  all,  in  manufacturing.  We 
have  previously  said  that  in  consequence  of  the  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances which  have  kept  the  resources  of  the  State  dor- 
mant, the  cost  of  labor  was  reduced  to  lower  figures  than  in 
any  other  part  of  the  United  States.  This  condition  is  not 
one  of  such  adversity  to  the  people  as  might  be  supposed,  in 
consequence  of  the  cheapness  of  living.  The  abundance  of 
everything  necessary  for  the  ordinary  support  of  the  people, 
the  ease  with  which  grains,  fruits,  and  vegetables  may  be 
grown  in  any  part  of  the  State,  enables  the  laboring  popula- 
tion to  live  on  very  moderate  wages.  The  ease  with  which  a 
large  laboring  force  can  be  put  in  motion  with  money,  renders 
the  field  a  most  inviting  one  to  a  capitalist,  whatever  the 
business  he  may  undertake,  or  the  character  of  the  natural 
resources  proposed  to  be  developed. 

The  following  table  shows  the  prices  of  farm  labor  per 
month  so  recently  as  1867,  and  this  may  be  taken  as  a  stand- 
ard of  comparison  for  all  labor : — 

Prices  of  farm  labor  per  month,  from  the  Agricultural  Report  for 
January,  1867. 

By  the  year  By  the  year         By  the  season       By  the  season 

without  hoard.        with  hoard.         without  hoard.         with  hoard. 

Massachusetts $38.94  $22.36  $41.61  $27.83 

Connecticut 34.25  21.54  39.66  28.30 

New  York 29.57  19.32  34.88  24.26 

New  Jersey 32.27  18.98  33.13  23.78 

Pennsylvania 29.91  18.84  34.10  22.87 

Maryland 20.36  12.76  23.83  15.58 

Virginia 14.82  9.36  17.21  12.09 

North  Carolina 13.46  8.15  15.18  10.00 

Georgia 15.51  9.67  18.45  12.07 

Louisiana 20.50  12.42  22.25  18.34 

Tennessee 19.00  12.58  22,00  16.61 

Kentucky 20.23  13.65  23.80  17.06 

Ohio 28.46  18.96  32.45  23.15 

Illinois 28.54  18.72  33.09  23.30 

Wisconsin 30.84  19.87  35.65  24.60 

Iowa 28.34  18.87  33.24  23.82 

Kansas 31.03  19.81  36.40  25.46 

California 45.71  30.35  50.00  34.39 


80  RESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

The  materials  for  the  above  statement  were  obtained  with 
great  labor  and  care  by  the  Agricultural  Department  in  1866, 
and  published  at  the  beginning  of  1867.  It  shows  most  con- 
clusively the  advantages  under  which  enterprises  involving 
the  employment  of  labor  can  be  entered  upon  in  North  Caro- 
lina, over  any  other  State  of  the  Union. 

The  Trade  of  Wilmington. 

As  the  chief  market  town  of  the  coast,  and  point  of  export 
for  the  peculiar  products  of  the  State,  Wilmington  is  a  place 
of  especial  interest.  The  following  statement  of  its  trade  is 
from  the  Wilmington  Price  Current  sheet,  for  January,  1869. 
Its  trade  in  lumber  is  nearly  half  to  foreign  ports,  and  of 
spirits  of  turpentine  about  one-third  goes  to  foreign  ports 
direct ;  but  nearly  all  other  articles  come  coastwise  to  north- 
ern ports. 

Statement  of  the  principal  articles  of  Produce  exported  from  the  port  of 
Wilmington,  N.  G.,for  the  year  ending  31st  December,  1868,  as  compiled 
from  the  reports  of  the  Daily  Journal,  and  compared  with  the  exports  of 
same  articles  for  years  1866-67. 

Articles 
sent  coastwise.  New  York. 

Spirits  Turp.  bbls 36,646 

Crude  Turp.       "  10,279 

Rosin,  bbls 313,430 

Tar          "   18,794 

Pitch       "   2,425 

Cotton,  bales 22,006 

Cotton  Yarn,  bales 128 

Cotton  Sheeting,  bales 519 

Peanuts,  bushels 80,867 

Rough  Rice,  bushels 3,409 

Lumber,  P.  P.  feet 2,011,059 

Timber             "       16,680 

Shingles 84,983 

Staves,  Cypress 993,131 

Staves,  Oak 16,050 


Boston. 

Philada. 

Baltimore. 

7,931 

6,762 

8,907 

6,141 

1.605 

742 

34,370 

34,067 

49,336 

13,156 

3,326 

5,904 

2,065 

242 

760 

1,199 

2,281 

6,091 

2 

1 

3 

11 

5,313 

3,856 

1,837 

12,420 

1,563 

55 

2,204,780 

4,287,937 

2,328,328 

2,898,151 
130,264 

17,500 

5,500 

RESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 


81 


Ports  in  New 
England. 


30 
251 

74 

1 

797 


109 
70 


Articles  Ports  in 

sent  co as  i  wise.  Virginia. 

Spirits  Turp.  bbls 

Crude  Turp.       "  301 

Rosin,  bbls 14,737 

Tar  "   

Pitch       "    

Cotton,  bales 

Cotton  Yarn,  bales. 
Cotton  Sheet'g  "  . 
Peanuts,  bushels..., 

Rough  Rice 

Lumber,  P.  P.  feet. 

Timber 

Shingles 

Staves,  Cypress 

Staves,  Oak 

To  Charleston  1000  bushels  rough  rice 
in  addition  to  the  detailed  list. 


118,589  2,623,059 

12,719 

50,000 

500         


Total, 

1868. 

60,246 

19,068 

445,940 

41,2S3 

5,592 

31,828 

225 

534 

92,670 

18,447 

13,874,751 

29,399 

3,050,634 

1,127,395 

10,050 

d  to  Galveston 


Total, 

1SK7. 

54,904 

17,417 

360,922 

27,258 

4,863 

21,026 

153 

443 

73,494 


13,314,520 

199,199 
1,635,534 

194,131 

185,649 
100,000  feet  of  lumber, 


Total, 
1SB6. 

49,078 

28,973 

325,233 

36,984 

2,875 

24,492 

1,115 

493 

26,133 

10,264,809 

277,834 

756,286 

293,327 

25,300 


Articles  sent 
to  foreihn  countries. 

Spirits  Turp.  bbls 

Crude  Turp.       "  

Rosin,  bbls 

Tar  "   

Pitch       "   

Cotton,  bales 

Cotton  Yarn,  bales 

Cotton  Sheeting,  bales. 

Peanuts,  bushels 

Rough  Rice     "      

Lumber,  P.  P.  feet 

Timber  "         

Shingles 

Staves,  Cypress 

Staves,  Oak 


British 
ports. 

34,397 
3,275 

14,879 
260 


St.  John's, 

N.  B. 

25 


250 
20 
50 


West 

Indies. 

48 

45 

180 

25 


Rio  de 
Janeiro. 


218 


Amster- 
dam. 
202 

1781 


35 


43,000 
18,000 


4,956,209        250,662 


932,272 
5,000 


Articles  sent 
to  foreign  countries. 
Spirits  Turp.  bbls. 
Crude  Turp.       " 

Rosin,  bbls 

Tar        "   

Pitch      "   

Cotton,  bales 

Cotton  Yarn,  bales 
Cotton  Sheet'g  " 
Peanuts,  bushels 

Rough  Rice 

Lumber,  P.  P.  feet  5, 
Timber  " 

Shingles 

Staves,  Cypress.... 
Staves,  Oak 


Total, 

1S6S. 

34,672 

3,275 

17,173 

460 

75 


35 

249,871 

18,000 

932,272 

5,000 


Coastwise  and  Foreign. 

Total,  Total,        Grand 

1S67.  1S66.      Total,  186S. 

34,670  7,929  94,918 

4,464  1,150  22,343 

30,218        18,218        463,113 

135  746  41,743 

70  251  5,667 

863  162  31,828 

225 

534 

22  92,705 

18..447 

5,419,942  12,106,267  19,194,662  18,734,462  22,371,076 

- 47,399        199,199       277,834 

2,191,760    2,241,200    3,982,906     3,827,294   2,997,486 

1,134,395    194,131   293.327 

166,649    50,913    10,050    352,298   76,213 


Grand 

Grand 

ital,  1S67. 

Tot.  1S66. 

89,574 

57,007 

21,8S1 

30,123 

391,140 

343,451 

27,393 

37,730 

4,933 

3,126 

21,889 

24,654 

153 

1,115 

443 

493 

73,494 

26,155 

82  EESOURCES   OF  NORTH   CAROLINA. 

Railroads  and  Internal  Communication. 

The  railroad  system  of  North  Carolina  is  now  very  well 
advanced  toward  completeness,  and  it  is  actively  being  pushed 
in  the  most  necessary  localities  during  the  current  year,  1869. 
From  the  north  two,  or  rather  three,  great  roads  enter  the 
State  from  Virginia;  first,  the  Seaboard  and  Roanoke,  from 
Norfolk  to  Weldon;  next  the  Petersburg  and  Roanoke,  con- 
necting Richmond  with  Wilmington,  by  way  of  Weldon  and 
Goldsboro,  and  with  Raleigh,  by  way  of  Gaston.  Next  is 
the  Richmond  and  Danville,  now  extended  from  the  Dan  River 
Valley  to  Greensboro  and  Salisbury.  The  whole  central  part 
of  the  State  is  penetrated  by  these  roads  and  their  branches, 
giving  an  outlet  for  any  kind  of  freights  direct  to  Norfolk, 
City  Point,  or  Richmond. 

On  the  seaboard,  the  first  railroad  south  of  Norfolk  is  the 
new  "  Atlantic  and  North  Carolina"  road,  connecting  Beaufort 
and  Newbern  with  Goldsboro  and  Raleigh,  where  it  connects 
with  road  from  Raleigh  to  Greensboro  and  Salisbury.  This 
is  an  important  opening  of  the  Neuse  River  district. 

But  the  chief  system  of  diverging  roads  from  the  seaboard 
is  at  Wilmington,  where  the  Wilmington  and  Weldon,  lead- 
ing to  Goldsboro,  due  north,  is  the  first ;  the  Wilmington, 
Charlotte,  and  Rutherford  road,  leading  north  of  west  to  Lum- 
berton  and  Rockingham,  and  then  west  to  Charlotteville,  next ; 
and  the  Wilmington  and  Manchester,  finally,  which  leads  due 
west  to  the  State  line,  and  then  southwest  to  Manchester  and 
Columbia,  in  South  Carolina.  The  Wilmington,  Charlotte, 
and  Rutherford  road  is  a  new  one ;  it  is  now  built  complete 
to  the  crossing  of  the  Yadkin  (or  Great  Pedee),  near  Wades- 
boro,  a  distance  of  120  miles  from  Wilmington.  Forty-three 
miles  beyond  this  point  have  been  completed,  west  of  Char- 
lotte, leaving  but  110  miles  of  unfinished  road.  The  State 
has  recently  appropriated  $4,000,000  for  the  building  of  this 
road,  and  it  will  be  pushed  forward  as  rapidly  as  possible. 
This  State  appropriation  furnishes  ample  means  to  finish  it. 
Ultimately,  it  will  connect  with  the  Tennessee  system  of  roads, 
and  form  one  of  the  great  trunk  routes  between  the  east  and 
west. 


RESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  83 

Another  important  new  road  is  the  Chatham,  which  begins 
at  the  North  Carolina  Central,  near  Raleigh,  and  runs  south- 
ward through  the  Deep  River  coal  district,  through  Montgo- 
mery County,  and  by  way  of  Wadesboro  to  Cheraw,  South 
Carolina,  where  it  connects  with  the  Northeastern  Railroad,  to 
complete  what  is  known  as  the  old  metropolitan  route.  The 
work  of  construction  is  going  on  rapidly. 

The  Greensboro  and  Salem  is  another  new  road,  extending 
some  thirty  miles  northwest  from  the  former  place,  into  a  new 
and  rich  country. 

The  Western  Railroad,  from  Fayetteville,  by  way  of  the 
coal  fields  on  Deep  River,  toward  Salisbury,  to  connect  with 
the  western  extension  of  the  N.  C.  R.  R.,  is  also  in  progress, 
about  40  miles  being  already  completed. 

The  western  extension  of  the  N.  C.  R.  R.  is  making  rapid 
progress;  it  has  already  reached  Morganton,  and  it  will  be 
completed  to  Old  Fort,  at  the  eastern  foot  of  Swananoa  Gap, 
by  the  end  of  August.  It  is  then  to  go  through  Swananoa 
Gap  to  Asheville,  and  from  Asheville,  southwestward,  through 
Haywood,  Jackson,  Macon,  and  Cherokee  Counties,  to  Duck- 
town,  Tennessee.  A  branch  of  this  road  will  run  from  Ashe- 
ville down  the  valley  of  the  French  Broad  River  to  Paint 
Rock,  on  the  Tennessee  line.  Work  is  now  going  on  near 
Old  Fort,  at  the  eastern  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  railroads  of  the  State  now 
completed  and  in  operation : — 

1.  The  Seaboard  and  Roanoke,  80  miles  in  length,  from 
Norfolk  to  Weldon,  20  miles  within  the  State,  and  60  miles 
in  Yirginia. 

2.  The  Petersburg  Railroad,  a  Yirginia  road  entering  the 
State  by  two  branches,  one  to  Weldon,  about  ten  miles  within 
the  State,  and  another  to  Gaston,  of  5  or  6  miles  only  within 
the  State,  and  connecting  each  of  these  points  with  Richmond, 
through  Petersburg. 

3.  The  Wilmington  and  Weldon,  162  miles  in  length  from 
Wilmington,  in  nearly  a  direct  line  north  to  Weldon, 
through  Goldsboro. 

4.  The  Raleigh  and  Gaston,  85  miles  to  Gaston,  and  97  miles 


84  EESOUECES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

to  Weldon,  connecting  at  each  of  these  points  with  the  Vir- 
ginia roads  above  named. 

5.  The  Atlantic  and  North  Carolina,  from  Goldsboro  to 
Morehead  City,  95  miles,  the  most  important  part  of  which 
is  from  Goldsboro  to  Newbern,  60  miles,  and  from  Newbern 
to  the  coast  near  Beaufort,  35  miles;  the  whole  distance  from 
Beaufort  or  Morehead  City  to  Goldsboro  being  95  miles,  and 
to  Ealeigh  143  miles. 

6.  The  North  Carolina  Railway,  a  curved  line,  the  whole 
length  of  which  from  Goldsboro  to  Charlotte  is  223  miles, 
and  from  Ealeigh  to  Charlotte  175  miles.  Its  principal  sec- 
tions are  from  Goldsboro  to  Ealeigh  48  miles  (northwest); 
from  Ealeigh  to  Greensboro  83  miles,  northwest  for  half  the 
distance,  and  west  for  the  remainder ;  from  Greensboro  to 
Salisbury  50  miles  southwest,  and  from  Salisbury  to  Char- 
lotte, 43  miles  south-southwest,  at  which  point  it  connects 
with  the  Charlotte  and  South  Carolina  Eailroad. 

7.  The  Charlotte  and  South  Carolina,  just  named,  extends 
from  Charlotte  109  miles  southwest  to  Columbia,  20  miles  of 
which  is  in  North  Carolina. 

8.  The  Western  North  Carolina,  an  extension  of  the  North 
Carolina  81  miles  from  Salisbury  to  Morganton,  with  35  miles 
farther  nearly  or  quite  complete  to  Old  Fort,  the  completed 
length  being  115  miles  from  Salisbury. 

9.  The  Wilmington  and  Manchester,  from  Wilmington  west 
to  Fair  Bluff,  63  miles  within  the  State,  and  117  miles  far- 
ther to  Kingsville,  South  Carolina. 

10.  The  Wilmington,  Charlotte  and  Rutherford,  now  com- 
pleted to  Wadesboro,  120  miles  from  Wilmington.  The 
western  division  is  also  built  from  Charlotte  43  miles  to  a 
point  beyond  Lincolnton. 

11.  The  Richmond,  Danville  and  Piedmont,  from  Eichmond 
to  Danville,  141  miles  in  Virginia,  and  from  Danville  to. 
Greensboro  48  miles  in  North  Carolina;  the  whole  distance 
from  Eichmond  to  Greensboro  being  189  miles,  and  to  Ea- 
leigh 272  miles. 

This  last  is  a  convenient  line  for  the  transportation  of 
various  products  of  the  rich  country  about  Dan  Eiver,  and 
the  mining  products  of  the  vicinity  of  Greensboro.     Tobacco, 


EESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  85 

oak-bark,  copper  ore,  and  like  products  go  to  Richmond,  and 
are  shipped  by  steamer  to  northern  cities. 

Cotton  generally  centres  at  Wilmington,  a  great  deal 
coming  from  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  over  the  Wilming- 
ton and  Manchester  Eailroad.  Some  cotton  of  North  Caro- 
lina goes  to  Norfolk,  but  the  greater  share  to  Wilmington. 
Lumber  and  naval  stores  are  gathered  largely  at  Newbern,  as 
well  as  at  Wilmington,  but  shorter  roads,  better  water  trans- 
portation, and  steadier  markets,  combine  to  gather  much  more 
than  half  the  exportable  products  of  the  State  at  Wilmington. 

A  number  of  railroads,  in  addition  to  these,  have  been 
authorized  by  the  legislature,  or  less  definitely  projected 
recently,  two  or  three  of  which  diverge  from  Fayetteville,  on 
the  Cape  Fear.  One  is  proposed  about  40  miles  nearly  due 
south  to  Lumberton;  another  more  nearly  southwest  to  Man- 
chester, S.  C;  and  another  northwest  to  Greensboro.  This 
last  is  already  built  up  to  the  coal  mines  of  Deep  River.  In 
the  western  part  of  the  State  the  road  from  Morganton 
through  Swananoa  Gap  is  in  progress  beyond  the  Blue  Eidge, 
one  branch  leading  from  Asheville  down  the  French  Broad, 
the  direction  being  northwest;  and  the  other  passing  west- 
ward through  Waynesville  to  the  valley  of  the  Tennessee 
River,  and  due  west  along  that  valley  into  the  State  of  Ten- 
nessee. A  branch  of  this  leaves  the  Tuckasage  Valley,  in 
Jackson  County,  to  go  southwest  through  Yalleytown  and 
Notteley  to  Ducktown,  in  Tennessee,  there  connecting  with 
the  Chattanooga  Railroad. 

The  Rabun  Gap  Railroad  also  comes  up  from  the  south  in 
Macon  County,  to  go  westward  out  of  the  State  in  the  Nante- 
hala  and  Tennessee  River  Valleys.  The  Chatham  Railroad 
has  been  referred  to  above;  also  the  Greensboro  and  Salem. 

Several  plank  roads  are  also  either  built  or  projected  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  State,  mainly  diverging  from  Fayette- 
ville; one  northeast  to  Goldsboro;  another  north  to  Raleigh; 
another  west  to  the  Yadkin,  in  Richmond  County;  and 
another  northwestward  to  Carthage,  Ashboro,  and  Salem,  in 
Forsyth  County. 
While  all  these  roads  and  improvements  cannot  be  expected 
7 


86  EESOURCES   OF   NORTH   CAROLINA. 

at  once  to  attain  completion,  th'e  fact  that  they  are  projected 
is  a  good  indication  of  the  spirit  of  enterprise  now  awakened. 

Freights  and  Sea  Transportation. 

North  Carolina  must,  to  a  considerable  extent,  rely  on  sea 
transportation  to  the  best  markets,  which  are  undoubtedly  in 
the  seaboard  cities  of  the  North.  The  question  of  cost  of 
freight  is  important,  therefore,  and  it  is  a  fair  comparison  to 
show  whether  freights  are  cheaper  to  those  cities  by  sea  from 
Wilmington,  than  by  rail  from  Cleveland.  We  have  already 
referred  to  the  cost  of  transporting  lumber  by  these  two 
routes,  the  difference  being  two  dollars  per  thousand  feet  in 
favor  of  Wilmington. 

Prof.  Maury  has  recently  calculated,  in  his  first  report  on 
the  "  Physical  Survey  of  Virginia,"  a  very  valuable  table  of 
average  rates  of  transportation  by  sea,  canal,  and  railway, 
which  shows  the  facility  with  which  coastwise  freights  may 
be  delivered  in  all  the  northern  markets  from  Wilmington, 
Newbern,  or  Norfolk ;  and  because  of  this  facility  and  cheap- 
ness, even  the  bulky  products  of  eastern  North  Carolina  com- 
pete successfully  with  anything  of  their  class  wherever  pro- 
duced. Lumber  and  shingles,  as  well  as  naval  stores  and 
cotton,  are  carried  cheaper  to  New  York  than  they  can  be 
from  any  interior  spot  of  production  whatever. 

Average  Bate  of  Freight,  in  mills,  per  ton,  per  mile,  by  different  carriers. 

By  sea,  long  voyage         .        .        .  1^  mills  per  ton,  per  mile.  . 

Coastwise 4^     "  " 

River,  barges 4        "  " 

Erie  Canal,  including  tolls       .        .  9T%     "  " 

Canals  generally       ....  13T7o     "  '• 

Railroads 30  (3  cts.)      " 

These  are  Prof.  Maury's  figures,  and  we  would  estimate  a 
lower  average  for  coastwise  freights,  making  them  not  above 
3  mills  per  ton  per  mile,  or  one-tenth  the  cost  of  railway 
freights  at  3  cents  per  ton  per  mile.  The  sailing  distance 
from  Wilmington  to  New  York  may  be  estimated  at  750  to 
800  miles  at  the  most,  and  the  freights  as  equal,  on  an  ave- 
rage, to  the  cost  for  150  to  200  miles  by  rail. 


RESOURCES   OF   NORTH   CAROLINA.  87 

It  is  not  easy  to  cite  any  regular  rates  of  freights  in  this 
coastwise  trade,  or  in  the  large  foreign  trade  of  the  port  of 
"Wilmington.  By  reference  to  the  table  of  the  trade  of  Wil- 
mington, before  given,  it  will  be  seen  that  a  great  many  car- 
goes of  lumber  go  every  year  to  West  Indian  ports,  and  that 
naval  stores  and  cotton  freight  a  number  of  vessels  to  London, 
Liverpool,  and  continental  ports.  All  these  are  known  to  be 
as  cheaply  shipped  as  from  any  other  port,  and  the  easiest  and 
safest  employment  for  sailing  vessels  of  the  entire  coast  being 
found  in  this  trade,  there  are  always  vessels  offering. 

By  railroad,  also,  the  shipment  of  produce  to  Norfolk  is 
easy  and  cheap.  In  1868  the  Wilmington  and  Weldon  Road 
took  over  12,000  barrels  of  early  fruits  and  vegetables,  mostly 
to  Norfolk;  and  the  whole  line  of  seaboard  counties,  as  well 
as  those  farther  inland,  traversed  by  this  road,  will  furnish  a 
large  amount  of  such  freight  for  sending  northward  from  Wil- 
mington, Newbern,  and  Norfolk. 

Fisheries  and  Fowl  Shooting  of  the  Coast. 

The  fisheries  of  the  coast  of  North  Carolina  make  a  very 
important  element  of  the  productions  of  the  State.  In  Ruf- 
fin's  "  Sketches  of  Lower  North  Carolina,"  a  very  clear  de- 
scription of  the  Sound  Fisheries  is  to  be  found,  which  we- 
here  transcribe: — 

"  The  fisheries  on  the  large  rivers,  by  seines  drawn  to  the  shores,  have- 
long  been  in  operation ;  but  it  has  been  but  recently,  compared  to  the 
others,  that  fisheries  were  first  tried  in  the  broad  waters  of  the  sounds. 
Though  it  was  previously  supposed  that  the  great  expense  of  such  fisheries 
could  not  be  repaid,  and  that  in  so  broad  a  channel  but  few  of  the  fish 
could  be  reached  from  the  shore  ;  yet,  on  trial,  the  Sound  fisheries  were 
found  to  be  the  most  productive  and  profitable.  Since  that  time,  however, 
so  many  fisheries  have  been  established  that  the  products  and  profits  of 
each  one  have,  in  later  years,  been  greatly  diminished. 

"The  land  and  shore  at  Stevenson's  Point,  the  extremity  of  Durant's 
Neck  (on  the  north  shore  of  Albemarle  Sound  in  Perquimans  Comity), 
was  the  property  of  J.  T.  Granbery  and  F.  Nixon,  and  the  first  Sound 
fishery  was  established  there  and  conducted  by  them.  Albemarle  Sound 
is  there  supposed  to  be  nine  or  ten  miles  across,  and  in  the  edge  of  this 
broad  space  the  seine  is  hauled.  I  will  describe  the  manner  of  conducting 
this  fishery,  which  does  not  differ  materially  from  most  others  since  estab- 
lished on  the  shore  of  the  Sound.  The  extremities  of  the  sweeps  of  the 
different  fisheries  almost  touch  each  other,  and  they  extend,  with  but  few 


88  RESOURCES   OF   NORTH   CAROLINA. 

intervals,  to  the  Chowan  River.  The  labors,  and  other  facts  of  these  fishe- 
ries, may  well  astonish  those  who  were  before  uninformed  as  to  the  mag- 
nitude of  the  operations. 

"The  seines  used  in  the  different  fisheries  vary  in  length  from  2200  to 
2700  yards,  and  are  18  feet  deep,  as  fished.  They  are  laid  out  about  a 
mile  and  a  quarter  from  the  shore,  and,  of  course,  the  hauling-ropes,  from 
both  ends  to  reach  the  shore,  must  be  together  more  than  two  and  a  half 
miles  long.  A  seine  is  carried  out  by  two  large  boats,  each  managed  by 
twelve  able  hands  (in  some  cases  ten  suffice),  and  is  laid  out,  beginning  at 
the  middle,  straight  and  nearly  parallel  with  the  shore ;  the  boats  from 
each  end  of  the  seine  then  row  to  the  shore,  letting  the  attached  hauling- 
ropes  run  out  from  the  boats.  The  shore  ends  of  the  ropes  are  then 
attached  to  large  capstans,  each  turned  by  six  horses.  Except  two  men 
required  at  each  capstan,  one  to  drive  the  horses,  and  the  other  to  watch 
and  direct  the  passage  of  the  rope  around  the  shaft,  all  the  other  men  at- 
tached to  the  seine  are  discharged,  to  rest,  eat,  or  sleep,  as  they  may  choose, 
until  the  ends  of  the  seine  reach  the  shore 

"The  fishing  labors  are  carried  on  without  cessation  through  the  twenty- 
four  hours,  except  when  suspended  because  of  storms ;  therefore  the  hands, 
like  sailors  at  sea,  work  and  rest,  not  by  day  and  by  night,  but  by  shorter 
'watches.'  Besides  the  fishermen,  or  boats'  crews,  there  are  fifteen  other 
men  employed  on  shore,  and  forty  women  and  boys,  to  trim,  salt,  and 
pack  the  herrings  caught.  The  particular  large  draughts  of  herrings,  as 
well  as  the  whole  number  caught  by  each  seine  in  a  season,  have  greatly 
diminished  as  the  seines  have  increased  in  number.  The  seine  at  Steven- 
son's Point  once  brought  in  and  landed  220,000  herrings  at  one  haul.  On 
the  rare  occasions  of  such  enormous  draughts  of  fish,  and  at  other  times 
when  the  cleaning  and  salting  cannot  proceed  fast  enough  to  save  the  fish 
if  all  were  landed  at  once,  and  also  in  warm  weather,  the  ends  of  the  seine 
are  hauled  gradually,  and  a  smaller  seine  is  hauled  within  the  inclosed 
space,  so  as  to  land  the  fish  no  faster  than  they  are  needed,  or  than  is  safe. 
In  this  way  one  draught  of  the  seine  has  in  some  cases  been  more  than 
twenty-four  hours  in  being  landed. 

"  The  first  outfit  of  one  of  these  seines,  and  the  expenses  of  the  first  sea- 
son, amount  to  from  $12,000  to  $15,000.  Afterwards  the  expenses  for  a 
season  are  much  less 

"  Considering  that  all  these  herrings  are  fish  of  passage,  and  enter  every 
spring  from  the  ocean,  it  is  astonishing  that  such  multitudes  should  enter 
through  the  very  narrow  and  shallow  inlets  through  the  sand  reef.  Be- 
sides the  main  and  direct  profit  of  these  fisheries,  there  is  another  which  is 
not  availed  of  to  one-tenth  of  the  extent  that  might  be  done.  This  is  the 
use,  as  manure,  of  the  immense  amount  of  animal  matter  in  the  trimming 
or  garbage  of  the  herrings,  and  other  salable  fish ;  and  also  of  other  fish, 
for  which  there  is  no  demand  for  curing,  and  which  sometimes  rot  and  go 
to  waste  by  hundreds  of  bushels." 

Mr.  Kuffin  advises  various  modes  of  saving  and  using  this 
fish  waste,  which  is  now  only  used  at  the  nearest  localities, 


EESOUECES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  89 

and  generally  by  burying  a  fish  or  a  handful  of  fragments 
under  each  hill  or  spot  where  corn  is  planted.  This  is  the 
common  way  all  along  the  coast,  in  various  localities  of  Long- 
Island  Sound  and  of  the  New  England  coast.  A  better  way 
is  to  prepare  a  compost  with  any  ordinary  earth,  and  particu- 
larly with  vegetable  matter,  and  a  share  of  lime  or  of  shells. 
Euffin  suggests  the  use  of  shell  marl,  or  of  any  marl  contain- 
ing carbonate  of  lime.  It  is  clear  that  many  modes  of  making 
this  fish  waste  available  in  fertilizing  soils  might  be  resorted 
to,  and  in  this  way  a  great  addition  to  the  value  of  the  fishe- 
ries would  be  made. 

The  North  Carolina  herring  fishery  is  a  very  important 
one,  as  Mr.  Euffin's  statement  shows.  "We  have  greatly  con- 
densed what  he  says  in  the  report  above  cited,  and  we  refer 
the  more  critical  reader  to  that  report  itself  for  much  valuable 
information. 

Duck  Shooting  on  the  Sound. 

Mr.  Euffin  proceeds,  in  the  same  report,  to  give  a  very 
interesting  account  of  this  new  branch  of  industry,  as  he  calls 
it,  and  we  cannot  do  better  than  to  copy  a  part  of  it : — 

"In  Princess  Anne  and  Currituck  Counties  the  killing  of  "wild  water- 
fowl is  a  branch  of  industry  of  considerable  importance  for  its  amount  of 
profit.  Its  extent  is  scarcely  known  by  any  person  out  of  this  region. 
For  myself  I  had  never  heard  of  it  as  a  regular  business  pursued  for  profit, 
and  was  much  impressed  with  the  novelty,  as  with  the  singular  features  of 
the  pursuit Since  the  closing  of  the  former  deep  and  wide  Curri- 
tuck Inlet,  the  strip  of  ocean  sand  beach  or  reef  has  been  unbroken  from 
the  northern  extremity  in  Princess  Anne,  bordering  on  the  Chesapeake 
Bay  for  some  55  miles  to  the  southern  end  of  Currituck  County.  The 
narrow  waters,  or  sounds,  inclosed  between  the  reef  and  the  mainland,  is, 
in  Virginia,  not  usually  more  than  two  miles  wide.  In  North  Carolina  it 
widens  into  Currituck  Sound,  and  is  between  five  and  ten  miles  wide, 
having  within  it  several  inhabited  islands.  All  these  sound  waters  are 
shallow,  and,  for  the  much  larger  extent,  less  than  ten  feet  deep — a  large 
proportion  near  the  shores  under  six  feet  deep.  Since  the  complete  closing 
of  Currituck  Inlet  in  1828,  the  water  has  become  fresh,  and  changes  have 
been  gradually  effected  in  most  of  the  productions  ;  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant was  in  affording  new  and  remarkable  attractions  to  wild  fowl  of  pas- 
sage. Three  or  more  different  kinds  of  fresh-water  grasses  soon  began  to 
grow  at  the  bottom  of  all  the  shallower  waters,  and  even  up  to  nine  feet 

deep These  different  grasses  now  cover  the  whole  bottom,  within 

the  limits  of  depth  named.     The  seeds  of  some  of  these  plants  mature  in 


90  RESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

May,  but  it  is  not  until  autumn  that  the  various  kinds  of  water  fowl,  pass- 
ing from  their  far  northern  summer  retreats,  are  attracted  to  this  place  by 
the  great  abundance  of  their  preferred  food. 

"  There  are  ducks  of  various  kinds,  of  which  the  canvas-back  is  the  most 
esteemed.  There  are  also  wild  geese  and  swans.  Altogether  they  congre- 
gate in  numbers  exceeding  all  conception  of  any  person  who  had  not  been 
informed.  The  shooting  season  continues  through  the  winter.  From  de- 
scription I  cannot  imagine  any  other  sport,  of  field  or  flood,  that  can  be 
more  likely  to  gratify  a  hardy  sportsman,  unless  the  certain  and  great  suc- 
cess is  such  as,  by  its  certainty,  to  take  away  much  of  the  pleasure  of  such 
amusements.  The  returns  in  game  killed  and  secured,  through  any  cer- 
tain time,  to  a  skilful,  patient,  and  enduring  gunner,  are  as  sure  as  the 
profits  of  any  ordinary  labor  of  agriculture  or  trade,  and  far  larger  for  the 
capital  employed. 

"Decoy  ducks  and  geese  are  used  to  attract  the  flying  flocks  of  wild 
ones.  In  most  cases  the  decoys  are  made  of  wood,  painted  to  resemble 
the  designed  originals.  In  other  cases  the  decoys  are  living  geese  or 
ducks  of  wild  kinds  tamed  or  confined ;  and  these  are  tied  by  one  foot  so 
as  to  swim  at  the  place  where  it  is  designed  that  the  flocks  shall  settle  in 
the  water.  A  small  and  natural-looking  blind  or  screen  made  of  a  few 
bushes,  with  rushes,  dry  water  grass,  etc.,  is  constructed  within  gunshot 
of  the  decoys,  behind  which  the  gunner  places  himself,  to  await  the  arrival 
of  the  'raft'  of  wild  ducks.  They  are  often  so  numerous  as  entirely  to 
cover  acres  of  the  surface  of  the  water,  so  that  the  observer  from  the  beach 
would  see  only  ducks,  and  no  water  between  them." 

The  same  authority  mentions  a  case  in  which  thirty  gun- 
ners were  employed  by  one  proprietor,  for  the  entire  winter. 
These  were  paid  a  definite  sum  for  each  fowl  shot,  and  were 
served  with  ammunition  by  the  proprietor.  In  one  winter 
this  proprietor  consumed  one  ton  of  gunpowder  and  four  tons 
of  shot,  with  46,000  percussion  caps.  This  business  is  pur- 
sued in  the  same  manner  along  a  line  of  coast  150  miles  in 
length. 

The  Climate  of  North  Carolina. 

In  some  references  made  at  the  outset  of  this  paper  to  the 
climate  of  this  State,  it  was  said  that  the  climate  represented, 
in  a  very  remarkable  degree,  the  entire  range  from  almost 
tropical  characteristics  to  the  temperate  and  moderate  sum- 
mers of  the  best  part  of  the  Northern  States.  To  show  how 
fully  this  statement  is  borne  out  by  the  facts,  we  copy  here  a 
number  of  records  of  observation  made  of  temperature  and 
the  quantity  of  rain,  taken  chiefly  from  Blodget's  Climatology 
of  the  United  States. 


RESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  91 

A  very  complete  record  of  thermometric  and  other  obser- 
vations was  made  at  Chapel  Hill  by  Professors  Caldwell, 
Phillips,  and  others,  beginning  as  early  as  1820,  but  complete 
only  from  1844.  A  series  of  18  years  was  also  observed  at 
Smithville,  Fort  Johnson,  from  1822  to  1845 ;  and  one  of 
5  years  at  Beaufort,  Fort  Macon.  These  two  points  fix  the 
climate  of  the  southeastern  coast  counties  quite  definitely, 
and  a  long  series  of  observations  at  Norfolk  or  Fortress  Mon- 
roe shows  nearly  what  the  change  is  in  the  northeastern 
corner  of  the  State.  In  the  west  there  are  few  regular  obser- 
vations, and  we  must  rely  on  comparisons,  and  the  indications 
afforded  by  altitude,  the  growth  of  forests,  and  the  practical 
experience  of  residents. 

Reviewing  the  State  by  these  interesting  tests  of  the  prac- 
tical sort,  we  find  in  the  southeast  many  indications  of  a 
tropical  character.  The  palmetto,  generally  thought  to  be- 
long only  to  South  Carolina,  creeps  along  the  coast  at  inter- 
vals as  far  as  Cape  Hatteras,  showing  the  softening  influences 
of  the  Grulf  Stream.  The  live  oak  goes  still  farther ;  it  covers 
Cape  Hatteras,  and  is  found  in  several  localities  about  Nor- 
folk. Figs  and  pomegranates  here  are  large  trees,  and  bear 
fruit  largely  in  the  open  air  in  all  the  counties  south  of  Hat- 
teras; winter  is  lightly  felt  there;  and  in  the  swamps  and  on 
the  banks  vegetation  is  green  throughout  the  year.  Great 
numbers  of  cattle  run  and  breed  almost  or  quite  wild  there, 
some  near  the  Virginia  border  being  annually  herded  and 
branded,  but  never  otherwise  seen  by  their  assumed  owners. 
A  breed  of  ponies  on  the  banks  also  ranges  uncared  for  during 
the  winter  months,  subsisting  on  the  grass  of  the  savannas. 
Snow  is  rarely  seen  at  Wilmington,  and  frost  is  equally  rare. 
No  ice  forms  on  the  waters,  and  potatoes,  cabbages,  lettuce, 
radishes,  and  many  garden  vegetables,  are  planted  in  Decem- 
ber, to  be  used  in  February,  March,  and  April. 

From  Newbern  northward  the  coast  is  cooler  in  winter, 
but  no  part  of  it  is  so  cold  as  at  Norfolk ;  yet  the  winter  at 
Norfolk  permits  the  live  oak  and  the  fig  to  grow,  and  gives 
only  occasional  snows  or  frost. 

In  the  interior,  or  approaching  it  from  the  coast,  the  sandy 
pine  lands  soon  develop  cooler  winters,  until,  at  Raleigh,  a 


92  EESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

new  standard  is  established.  Here  garden  vegetables,  such 
as  we  have  named,  still  grow  in  most  winters  unprotected ; 
but  there  are  occasional  frosts  and  snows.  Cabbage,  lettuce, 
spinach,  radishes,  etc.  grow  best  in  winter.  The  fig  has 
always  one  crop,  and  sometimes  two ;  the  peach  blossoms  the 
1st  of  March,  and  ripens  in  June.  Strawberries  ripen  early 
in  May ;  peas  are  eatable  early  in  May ;  potatoes  at  the  same 
time;  and  the  whole  growth  is  a  week  earlier  than  Norfolk, 
two  weeks  earlier  than  Maryland,  and  three  weeks  earlier 
than  southern  New  Jersey. 

At  Greensboro  and  Salisbury  one  gradation  later  is  found, 
the  spring  being  about  the  same  as  at  Norfolk,  perhaps  a 
little  later.  The  average  surface  is  about  a  thousand  feet 
above  the  sea  level,  and  the  winters  have  frosts  and  snows  of 
such  severity  as  to  preclude  any  growth  of  unprotected  vege- 
tation. 

In  the  mountain  valleys  and  slopes,  where  the  average 
elevation  above  the  sea  is  from  1800  to  3500  feet,  the  standard 
of  climate  is  nearly  that  of  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  and 
Harrisburg.  Snow  will  sometimes  remain  for  some  days  on 
the  ground,  and  firm  ice  forms  at  intervals  in  the  rivers. 
The  winter  begins  with  November,  yet  there  is  less  con- 
tinuous severity  of  winter  weather,  and  cattle  often  need  little 
winter  feeding,  if  they  have  woodlands  and  open  mountain 
sides  to  range  over. 

The  period  exempt  from  night  frosts  is  about  from  April 
25th  to  October  10th,  on  the  average;  the  planting  season 
for  corn  and  like  crops  being  April  15th  to  20th.  In  some 
of  the  more  elevated  valleys  frosts  are  later  in  spring  and 
earlier  in  autumn,  but  there  are  no  valleys  in  which  corn  will 
not  grow  well,  and  the  variety  of  products  is  so  great  as  to 
suggest  an  unusual  mingling  of  climates.  Sweet  potatoes  are, 
as  we  have  mentioned  in  a  previous  part  of  this  paper,  a 
regular  product  of  more  than  half  the  mountain  counties. 
Hon.  T.  L.  Clingman  says : — 

"  Horses  and  horned  cattle  are  usually  driven  out  into  the  mountains 
about  the  1st  of  April,  and  are  brought  back  in  November.  Within  six 
weeks  after  they  have  thus  been  'put  in  the  range,'  they  become  exceed- 
ingly fat  and  sleek.     There  are,  however,  on  the  tops  and  along  the  sides 


RESOURCES   OF   NORTH   CAROLINA.  93 

of  the  higher  mountains,  evergreen,  or  winter  grasses,  on  which  horses 
and  horned  cattle  live  well  through  the  entire  winter.  Such  animals  are 
often  foaled  and  reared  there  until  fit  for  market,  without  ever  seeing  a 
cultivated  plantation."  ....  "  All  kinds  of  live  stock  can  be  raised  (in 
these  mountain  counties)  with  facility.  Sheep,  in  flocks  of  fifty  or  sixty, 
browse  all  the  winter  in  good  condition.  I  never  saw  larger  sheep  any- 
where than  some  I  observed  in  the  Hamburg  Valley  of  Jackson  County, 
the  owner  of  which  told  me  that  he  had  not,  for  twelve  years  past,  fed  his 
sheep  beyond  giving  them  salt  to  prevent  their  straying  away." 

The  summer  of  this  mountain  region  is  especially  delight- 
ful, the  air  being  pure,  elastic,  and  free  from  the  excessive 
heat  and  excessive  saturation  which  are  often  found  along 
the  Atlantic  coast,  even  as  far  north  as  New  York.  It  is 
healthy  and  exhilarating,  without  being  damp  and  chilly  at 
frequent  intervals,  as  is  the  case  on  elevated  districts  of  New 
York  and  New  England.  It  would  be  particularly  desirable 
as  a  summer  residence  for  invalids  from  pulmonary  diseases. 
The  winter  as  well  as  the  summer  climate  at  Asheville  is 
claimed,  by  careful  observers,  to  be  as  dry  as  that  of  Minne- 
sota, and  all  the  salubrity  so  justly  claimed  for  this  remote 
State  may  be  realized  to  the  resident  of  any  seaboard  State 
by  taking  up  his  residence  in  this  upland  valley  of  North 
Carolina. 

The  following  is  a  summary  of  thermometrical  observa- 
tions at  several  places  in  and  near  North  Carolina,  beginning 
at  Kichmond  and  Norfolk,  at  which  last-named  point  the  long 
series  of  years  observed  fixes  the  averages  with  great  exact- 
ness. Most  of  the  observations  are  from  the  authority  above 
quoted;  others  from  recent  reports  of  the  Agricultural  De- 
partment : — 

Spring.  Summer.    Autumn.  Winter.  Tear.           Period. 

Richmond,  Va 55°.7  75°.4  56°.3  37°.2  56°.2  4  yrs.  obs'ed. 

Norfolk  (Fortress  Monroe) 56.9  76.6  61.7  40.4  59.3  30 

Gaston,  1ST.  C 55.6  76.2  57.6  39.7  57  3        3             " 

Thornbury,  Northampton  Co..  57.4  77.0  59.1  41.5  5S.8        2            " 

Scuppernong  (Lake  Phelps)...  5S.6  74  7  60.0  43.3  59.1        2            " 

Murfreesborough,  Hertford  Co.  56.9  76  5  5S.4  42.3  5S.5        3            " 

Chapel  Hill  University 59.3  76.3  60.3  42.S  59.7  14             " 

Goldsboro 57.1  78.0  60.9  44  0  60.0        2            " 

Beaufort,  Fort  Macon 59.5  7S.5  65.2  45.7  62.2        5            " 

Smithville,  Fort  Johnson 64.5  80.2  67.4  50.6  65.7  18            " 

All  Saints,  near  Georget'n,  S.  C.  61  S  78.4  65.0  48.2  63.3       5            " 

Charleston,  Fort  Moultrie 65.8  80.6  68.0  51.7  66.6  2S            " 

Camden,  S.  C 63.0  78.4  62  9  46.6  62.7        5            " 

Charlotte,  N.  C 57.8  76.3  58.9  42.8  5S.9        2            " 

Asheville,  N.  C 52.0  71.5  56.0  39.0  54.6        2  (parts  of.) 

Knoxville,  Tenn 55.8  70.8  56.7  39.3  55.7        1  yr.  obser'd 

Knoxville  (another  series) 58.2  73.0  57.4  3S.5  56.8       2  yrs.  nearly 


94  RESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

The  last  two  of  the  stations  entered  here  are  too  imperfect 
to  be  satisfactory,  but  they  serve  the  purpose  of  partial  com- 
parison. It  appears  from  these  results  that  the  climate  of 
Eichmond  is  not  far  from  that  of  the  valleys  at  Asheville  and 
Knoxville ;  that  of  Asheville  being  cooler  in  summer,  but 
warmer  in  winter.  Smithville  and  Charleston  are  very  much 
alike,  both  showing  a  marked  contrast  with  places  so  far  in 
the  interior  as  Chapel  Hill  and  Charlotte. 

The  isothermal  charts  of  Blodget's  Climatology  show  this 
contrast  of  the  interior  with  the  coast  in  a  striking  manner; 
the  lines  representing  averages  for  each  season  and  the  year, 
curving  sharply  down  or  southward  along  the  mountain  pla- 
teau, and  this  more  particularly  in  summer  than  at  any  other 
time. 

The  quantity  of  rain  falling  is  not  excessive  in  any  part  of 
the  State.  At  Gaston  and  Chapel  Hill  it  is  42  inches  in  the 
year,  and  in  the  more  elevated  country  westward  somewhat 
less,  or  about  40  inches  on  the  average.  In  the  lower  part  of 
the  State,  toward  the  coast,  it  is  more,  or  about  45  inches. 
There  is  less  just  at  the  sea  line  than  there  is  50  to  75  miles 
inland.  The  few,  and  not  entirely  trustworthy  observations 
we  have,  are  the  following : — ■ 

Average  Quantities  of  Rain. 

Spring.            Summer.  Autumn.  Winter.  Year.  Period. 

Norfolk,  Va 9.77  inches    15  08  10.16  10.17  45.13  19  years. 

Gaston,  N.  C 11,27  12.09                 9.07  10.23  42  66  3     " 

Chapel  Hill,  N.  C.  10.03  10.2S  10.69  10.10  41.11  4    " 

Waccamaw,  S.  C. . .  7.33  13.45                 9.09  1102  40.90  5     " 

Charleston,  S.  C...  9.89  17.45  10  06  7.52  44  92  12     " 

Camden,  S.  C 11.19  17.57                  8.05  10.64        ■       47.44  4     " 

Knoxville,  Tenn..  9.62  13.51                 6.77  10.42  40.32  2K " 

There  are  no  complete  records  for  points  in  the  interior, 
and  west  of  North  Carolina ;  but  the  partial  observations 
made  at  a  few  points  confirm  the  distribution  before  men- 
tioned, and  as  shown  in  the  shaded  charts  of  Blodget's  Cli- 
matology. There  is  more  rain  in  the  summer  months  in 
consequence  of  the  greater  quantity  falling  at  one  time,  not 
because  of  the  greater  number  of  rains.  Often  three,  four,  or 
even  six  inches  of  water  will  fall  in  a  single  shower  of 
summer. 

In  conclusion,  too  much  cannot  be  said  in  favor  of  the 


RESOURCES   OF   NORTH   CAROLINA.  95 

general  climate  of  North  Carolina.  In  the  east  and  south  it 
is  almost  tropical,  without  the  dangers  of  a  tropical  climate, 
and  with  a  soft,  delightful  winter.  In  the  central  part  of  the 
State  it  is  elastic  and  generally  dry,  precisely  like  the  better 
parts  of  Pennsylvania  in  this  respect,  except  in  being  warmer, 
and  having  an  open  winter,  with  only  occasional  frost  or 
snow.  In  the  west  it  is  peculiarly  fine,  elastic,  and  dry  ;  cool, 
without  so  much  of  clouds  and  rain  as  in  the  elevated  dis- 
tricts of  the  Northern  States ;  and  in  the  interior  valleys,  as 
at  Asheville,  nothing  can  be  more  uniformly  delightful, 
winter  or  summer. 

In  a  valuable  article  on  the  climate  of  North  Carolina,  by 
David  Christy  (published  by  the  Nantehala  Mining  Company), 
a  more  complete  statement  of  the  advantages  of  the  mountain 
climate  of  these  counties  is  given  than  we  have  room  for  here. 
Its  freedom  from  damp  and  mildew,  its  purity  of  air  and 
elasticity  peculiarly  fit  it  for  grapes  and  all  the  finer  fruits. 
Not  like  the  mountains  of  the  Northern  States,  or  of  Europe, 
always  covered  with  clouds  and  storms,  these  upland  counties 
have  the  purity  of  mountain  air,  with  the  almost  constant 
clear  sky  of  the  plains  of  other  countries  of  the  same  latitudes. 

Some  very  beautiful  spectacles  of  local  cloud  formation 
occur  on  the  higher  mountain  peaks,  all  the  peculiarities  of 
such  scenes  as  observed  in  Europe  being  here  much  more 
distinct  and  conspicuous ;  the  clouds  forming  in  rounded 
masses,  often  with  lightning  and  heavy  rain,  instead  of  misty 
rain  and  diffused  fog,  as  in  colder  latitudes.  A  vivid  descrip- 
tion of  these  scenes  is  given  by  Mr.  Christy,  in  the  paper 
above  quoted. 

Proportion  of  Improved  and  Unimproved  Lands. 

North  Carolina  is  one  of  the  largest  States;  it  is  larger 
than  New  York  or  Pennsylvania ;  the  first  by  3000  square 
miles,  and  the  second  by  4000  square  miles.  It  is  almost 
exactly  as  large  as  Alabama  and  Iowa,  and  is  exceeded  only 
by  Georgia  and  Florida,  of  the  older  States  of  the  South,  but 
not  by  Virginia,  since  the  division  of  that  State.  It  em- 
braces 50,704  square  miles  of  surface;  and  in  1860  reported 


96  EESOUECES    OF   NOETH    CAEOLINA. 

23,762,969  acres  in  farms,  of  which  but  6,517,284  were  im» 
proved,  leaving  17,245,685  acres  unimproved.  In  Pennsyl- 
vania and  New  York,  by  the  same  census,  these  proportions 
were  nearly  reversed. 

Acres  improved.  Acres  unimproved. 

North  Carolina        .        .        .       6,517,284  17,245,685 

New  York       ....     14,358,403  6,616,555 

Pennsylvania  ....     10,463,296  6,548,844 

By  calculation,  the  number  of  square  miles  given  above 
show  that  8,687,591  acres  of  surface  reckoned  as  within  the 
State,  must  be  water  or  mountain,  not  included  in  the  return  of 
farms,  nor  of  tracts  owned  by  the  State  ;  or,  at  least,  not  being 
surveyed,  and  defined  as  so  owned.  Large  tracts  of  the 
swamp  lands  belong  to  the  Literature  Fund,  a  trust  created 
•for  the  uses  of  various  institutions  of  instruction.  Nearly 
2,000,000  of  acres  in  the  coast  counties  yet  belong  to  the 
State,  and  large  tracts  in  the  mountain  counties,  amounting, 
in  the  aggregate,  to  much  more.  But  the  greater  proportion 
of  the  unimproved  lands  are  in  tracts  of  various  sizes  owned 
by  individuals. 

The  large  proportion  of  unimproved  lands  is  a  most  impor- 
tant point  in  considering  their  available  value  to  a  purchaser, 
or  the  extent  to  which  his  application  of  capital  and  labor  can 
advance  their  value  above  their  cost.  To  buy  lands  already 
as  high  in  price  as  they  can  be  bought  after  much  money  and 
labor  has  been  expended  on  them,  is  quite  a  different  thing 
from  buying  where,  by  opening  and  rendering  them  accessi- 
ble, their  value  can  be  largely  increased  above  such  first 
cost. 

We  give  a  tabular  statement,  therefore,  of  the  proportion 
of  improved  and  unimproved  land  in  the  several  natural  divi- 
sions of  the  State :  first,  the  coast  counties  and  swamp  lands ; 
second,  the  pitch-pine  region  of  sandy  lands;  and  next,  the 
great  central  area,  with  the  mountain  districts  in  conclusion. 


RESOURCES   OF   NORTH   CAROLINA. 


97 


Counties. 

Acres  improved. 

Acres  unimproved 

Currituck           ....           36,561 

68,292 

Camden    . 

62,382 

54,374 

Pasquotank 

53,674 

40,258 

Perquimans 

52,182 

67,852 

Gates 

72,678 

83,673 

Chowan    . 

41,330 

72,607 

Hertford   . 

73,270 

133,652 

Bertie 

117,806 

225,640 

"Washington 

23,626 

74,810 

Tyrrel 

21,370 

63,633 

Beaufort   . 

32,026 

226,721 

Hyde 

31,988 

90,576 

Pitt   . 

106,164 

233,444 

Craven 

63,345 

299,145 

Jones 

55,110 

124,787 

Carteret    . 

10,388 

51,055 

Onslow 

63,783 

233,680 

Duplin 

106,176 

339,987 

New  Hanover 

52,925 

395,624 

Bladen 

55,274 

459,362 

Columbus 

35,364 

322,702 

Brunswick 

21,511 

303,553 

1,138,933 


3,965,427 


Thus  the  area  unimproved  in  the  coast  counties  alone  is 
nearly  4,000,000  of  acres,  and  nearly  three  and  a  half  times 
the  amount  improved.  The  counties  on  the  Albemarle 
Sound  make  the  best  return,  and  many  tracts  in  them  are 
richly  productive  since  they  were  drained  and  brought  under 
skilful  cultivation.  But  all  the  coast  and  swamp  lands  south 
of  Albemarle  show  a  large  excess  of  unoccupied  lands, 
amounting  in  New  Hanover,  Bladen,  Columbus,  and  Bruns- 
wick, to  nearly  ten  times  the  area  of  lands  improved.  In 
these  four  counties  there  are  1,481,441  acres  unimproved,  to 
165.070  acres  improved. 

In  the  next  district,  the  pine  lands,  the  following  are  the 
proportions  : — 


98 


RESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 


Acres  improved. 

Acres  unimproved 

Northampton     ....        127,775 

170,292 

Halifax 

147,615 

248,825 

Edgecombe 

134,758 

174,632 

Martin 

56,072 

178,507 

Nash 

81,045 

204,093 

Wilson 

61,366 

115,544 

Greene 

63,667 

87,603 

Wake 

183,947 

368,014 

Johnston    . 

109,740 

224,820 

Wayne 

108,882 

190,646 

Lenoir 

111,183 

161,476 

Sampson     . 

118,636 

345,597 

Cumberland 

54,446 

404,884 

Robeson 

106,139 

464,904 

Harvelt 

46,667 

241,403 

1,511,938 


3,581,245 


The  proportion  here  is  a  little  more  than  two-thirds  unim- 
proved, though  we  have  some  uplands  in  the  counties  named, 
it  being  impossible  to  separate  the  parts  of  counties.  Parts 
of  Wake,  Halifax,  Northampton,  and  two  or  three  other 
counties,  are  not  of  the  sandy  pine  land  region ;  and,  again,  a 
good  share  of  some  of  the  counties  of  the  first  table  were  pine 
lands. 

The  main  part  of  the  State  west  of  these  pine  lands  cannot 
be  separately  classified,  though  some  parts  are  really  moun- 
tainous. Leaving  one  tier  of  counties  east  of  the  Blue  Eidge 
to  be  classed  with  the  mountain  counties  beyond  it,  we  bring 
the  rest  into  an  aggregate  : — 


EESOUECES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 


99 


Warren  . 

Franklin 

Granville 

Person    . 

Orange    . 

Caswell  . 

Alamance 

Chatham 

Moore 

Richmond 

Montgomery 

Randolph 

Guilford  . 

Rockingham 

Stokes     . 

Forsythe 

Davidson 

Stanley  . 

Anson     . 

Union 

Cabarrus 

Rowan    . 

Davie 

Yadkin    . 

Iredell     . 

Catawba 

Lincoln  . 

Gaston     . 

Mecklenberg 


icres  improved. 

Acres  unimproved 

122,072 

225,183 

118,968 

180,816 

197,489 

243,713 

101,736 

118,662 

101,354 

246,040 

168,878 

90,244 

110,655 

109,538 

154,505 

340,092 

65,165 

375,148 

82,443 

352,243 

56,178 

204,513 

131,486 

288,995 

195,713 

180,824 

111,783 

190,692 

46,042 

182,748 

72,509 

132,212 

121,017 

198,726 

58,932 

172,140 

103,391 

210,366 

66,572 

236,900 

83,105 

124,471 

135,102 

197,715 

59,974 

93,004 

61,254 

138,519 

96,078 

226,573 

67,833 

153,782 

43,567 

139,350 

52,824 

167,382 

95,938 

181,562 

2,882,563 


5,702,133 


Caswell,  Person,  Alamance,  and  Guilford  show  the  largest 
proportions  of  improved,  the  first  having  two-thirds  im- 
proved, and  the  others  about  half.  The  average  is  one-third 
improved.  Moore,  Eichmond,  Montgomery,  and  Union,  in 
the  southern  part  of  the  State,  show  less  than  one-fifth  of  the 
surface  improved. 

In  the  remaining  counties  east  of  the  mountains  the  propor- 
tion improved  is  much  less  than  in  this  central  belt : — 


100 


KESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 


Surry 

Wilkes      . 

Alexander 

Caldwell  . 

Burke 

Cleveland 

McDowell 

Rutherford 

Polk 


Acres  improved. 

Acres  unimproved 

58,090 

254,240 

78,009 

270,009 

38,847 

103,707 

41,107 

139,808 

33,253 

126,986 

79,001 

172,426 

28,878 

115,565 

58,178 

149,242 

20,328 

70,966 

430,791 


1,402,949 


But  little  more  than  one-fifth  of  the  surface  is  improved, 
but  a  share  is  so  rough  and  mountainous  as  to  preclude  culti- 
vation.    It  is  valuable  for  timber  and  mining,  however. 

The  counties  west  of  the  Blue  Eidge  have  been  increased 
in  number  by  division  since  1860,  but  we  can  only  cite  them 
as  then  divided  : — 


Ashe 

Watauga 

Yancey     . 

Madison    . 

Buncombe 

Henderson 

Haywood 

Jackson     . 

Macon 

Cherokee 


Acres  improved. 

Acres  unimproved 

54,804 

186,483 

25,085 

141,743 

46,135 

265,675 

32,592 

174,760 

72,755 

281,200 

43,479 

150,519 

33,686 

308,067 

86,145 

320,038 

32,609 

303,946 

44,981 

374,319 

472,271 


2,506,750 


The  counties  of  Mitchell,  Transylvania,  and  Clay  have 
been  formed  by  division  of  the  above — Mitchell  between 
Watauga  and  Yancey,  and  the  others  on  the  southern  border, 
from  Jackson  and  Cherokee.  In  these  mountain  counties 
one-sixth  only  of  the  surface  was  improved  in  1860. 


Review  of  the  Agricultural  Resources  of  the  State. 

Having  gone  over  a  number  of  the  leading  classes  of  mate- 
rial resources  of  the  State  in  distinct  descriptions,  we  may 
add  something  here  of  a  general  character,  to  refresh  the 
attention  of  those  who  may  read  what  we  have  written,  and 
to  enable  us  to  add  a  review  of  the  agriculture  of  the  State 


RESOURCES    OF   NORTH   CAROLINA.  101 

in  1867  as  prepared  by  the  Agricultural  Department  from  the 
letters  and  correspondents  in  North  Carolina. 

In  the  agriculture,  lumber-producing,  mining,  manufactur- 
ing, and  almost  every  other  pursuit,  the  point  that  arrests 
attention  first  is  the  readiness  with  which  great  natural  ad- 
vantages can  be  made  available  where  capital  and  energy  are 
applied.  The  whole  surface  is  wonderfully  rich  in  capacity 
for  diversified  agriculture  —  from  the  surpassingly  fertile 
drained  lands  of  the  coast  counties,  to  the  mountain  valleys 
of  the  west,  there  is  nothing  to  equal  the  range  of  produc- 
tion. Cotton  and  rice ;  winter-grown  vegetables ;  market 
garden  produce ;  figs,  grapes,  and  the  most  delicate  orchard 
fruits  of  the  north  ;  grains  of  every  kind,  from  rice  to  buck- 
wheat ;  cattle  and  sheep  raising  in  natural  ranges  almost 
oblivious  of  winter — all  these  are  offered  in  a  locality  only 
twenty -four  hours  by  rail  and  thirty-six  by  water  from  New 
York  or  Philadelphia.  And  these  lands,  with  the  cost  of  the 
labor  to  work  them,  represent  but  half  the  capital  required 
for  lands  in  Ohio,  Illinois,  Michigan,  or  even  Kentucky. 

Transportation,  as  we  have  shown,  represents  only  about 
three-fourths  of  the  cost  of  transportation  from  other  pro- 
ducing districts  equally  distant,  and  on  the  seaboard,  railroad 
monopoly  can  never  encumber  it  with  excessive  prices. 
The  twenty  ports  of  North  Carolina  are  always  open  to  the 
fleet  of  cheap  carrying  vessels  seeking  business  in  the  coast- 
ing trade,  and  no  combination  has  ever  been  thought  of  by 
which  the  natural  freedom  of  sea  navigation  could  be  bound 
up  in  oppressive  exactions. 

The  following  agricultural  review  of  the  State  in  1867  is 
valuable  as  an  independent  and  impartial  statement  derived 
from  original  sources  within  the  State ;  but  it  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  it  is  simply  -a  reflex  of  the  feelings  and  views 
of  the  correspondents  of  the  Department  for  that  year.  Then 
cotton  was  low  in  price,  and  those  who  had  grown  it  antici- 
pating good  prices  were  severely  disappointed.  Now  it  is 
worth  one-half  more  than  then,  and  what  is  said  of  cotton 
growing  is  therefore  to  be  taken  with  these  allowances.  And 
a  like  caution  is  to  be  observed  in  regard  to  other  remarks  on 
crops  and  production. 


102  RESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

Agricultural  Review  of  North  Carolina  in  1867. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture  in  1867  issued  a  circular 
of  inquiries  to  as  many  persons  as  could  readily  be  reached, 
soliciting  answers  to  the  following  inquiries : — 

1 .  What  is  the  average  percentage  of  increase  (or  decrease  if  cases  of  decrease 
exist)  in  the  price  of  farm  lands  in  your  county  since  1860? 

2.  What  is  the  average  value  of  wild  or  unimproved  tracts  of  land  ;  and  what 
is  the  character,  quality,  and  capabilities  of  such  land  ? 

3.  What  marked  or  peculiar  resources  have  you  in  soil,  timber,  or  minerals  ; 
and  what  is  the  state  of  their  development,  or  inducement  for  attempted  devel- 
opment ? 

4.  What  crops,  if  any,  are  made  a  specialty  in  your  county;  and  what  facts 
illustrating  their  culture,  quantity,  and  the  profit  derived? 

5.  What  kinds  of  wheat  are  cultivated,  and  which  of  them  are  preferred  ;  and 
why  ?  What  is  the  time  for  drilling  and  sowing  ?  for  harvesting  ?  and  what  is 
the  amount  and  mode  of  culture  ?     What  proportion  is  drilled? 

6.  What  grasses  are  natural  to  your  pastures?  How  many  months  can  farm 
animals  feed  exclusively  in  pastures?  What  would  be  a  fair  estimate,  per  head, 
of  the  cost  of  a  season's  pasturage  of  an  average  herd  of  cattle  ? 

7.  What  are  the  capabilities  of  your  county  for  fruit?  What  fruits  are  best 
adapted  to  your  soil  and  climate  ?     Give  some  facts  concerning  yield  and  profit. 

A  condensed  summary  of  all  the  answers  received  from 
each  State  was  published  in  the  Monthly  Agricultural  Reports 
for  the  early  months  of  1868,  and  that  for  North  Carolina  in 
the  February  number  of  those  reports.  The  following  is 
this  summary : — 

1.  Reports  from  forty-one  counties  represent  a  very  general  decrease  in 
values  of  real  estate  (from  1860).  Madison  and  McDowell  Counties  report  no 
decrease  from  prices  of  1860,  while  the  latter  shows  an  actual  increase  on  those 
of  1866.  Onslow  reports  no  decrease  on  well  improved  farms,  but  all  others 
estimate  a  decline  varying  from  five  to  seventy-five  per  cent.,  and  even  more, 
especially  at  forced  sales.  As  a  general  rule,  small  and  improved  farms  have 
decreased  less  than  large  and  neglected  ones.  The  general  average  may  be  fairly 
rated  at  fifty  per  cent.  The  causes  are  variously  stated,  as  war,  change  in  sys- 
tem of  labor,  scarcity  of  money,  unsettled  state  of  public  affairs,  and  the  unrest 
of  doubts  in  regard  to  the  future. 

2.  Wild  or  unimproved  lands  are  reported  in  three  general  classes :  first, 
lands  exhausted,  abandoned,  and  grown  up  to  bushes;  second,  virgin  uplands, 
generally  well  timbered  ;  and  third,  low  or  swamp  lands,  pocosin,  often  well  tim- 
bered. The  first,  once  fertile,  can  be  restored  in  time,  and  by  good  management ; 
the  second  requires  only  clearing  and  tillage  ;  and  the  third  needs  drainage  in 
addition.  The  second  and  third  can  be  had  at  prices  varying  from  fifty  cents  to 
ten  dollars  per  acre  ;  the  first  at  even  lower  rates.  Pitch  and  turpentine  lands 
abound  in  Duplin,  Lincoln,  Cabarrus,  Hertford,  Sampson,  Onslow,  and  Moore 
Counties ;  and  can  be  had  at  from  two  dollars  to"^  five  dollars,  according  to 
quality  and  facilities  for  working  and  marketing. 

"  Pocosin,"  or  swamp  lands   are  reported  in  quantities  in  Duplin,  Onslow, 


RESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  103 

and  a  few  other  counties ;  in  the  latter  one  body  of  "  white  oak  pocosin"  of  sixty 
thousand  acres,  extending  into  several  adjacent  counties,  and  other  tracts  nearly 
as  large,  requiring  combined  capital  to  drain.  Another  writer  says  of  these 
that  "the  prices  are  from  two  dollars  to  three  dollars  per  acre,  and  clearing  and 
draining  will  cost  as  much  more.  They  are  among  the  most  fertile  lands  when 
brought  into  cultivation."  The  principal  portion  of  these  lands  belongs  to  the 
Literary  Board  of  North  Carolina.  Wilkes  County  reports  ridge  or  rolling  lands 
with  branch  (or  river)  bottoms  :  100  acre  farms,  one-fourth  cleared,  with  cabin, 
running  water,  plenty  of  wood,  at  two  dollars  per  acre ;  mountain  lands  well 
wooded,  generally  fertile,  and  water  power  too  abundant  to  be  appreciated,  at 
one  dollar  per  acre.  Camden  County  (N.  E.  extremity  of  State),  virgin  forest 
lands  five  dollars,  and  virgin  swamp  one  dollar  per  acre  ;  Jackson  County  moun- 
tain lauds,  rich  and  loose  in  quality,  much  of  it  stony,  average  fifty  cents  per 
acre  ;  Caldwell  County,  all  timbered,  and  water  power  abundant,  level  lands  one 
dollar,  and  mountain  fifty  cents  per  acre ;  Bertie  County  (head  of  Albemarle 
Sound)  is  three-fourths  timbered,  uplands  formerly  held  at  five  dollars,  bottom 
lands  higher  in  price. 

Lands  generally  of  good  quality  and  capable  of  high  improvement  exist  in 
Duplin,  Bertie,  Halifax,  Hertford,  Onslow,  Wilkes,  Wilson,  Macon,  and  Davie 
Counties,  all  offered  low  ;  the  greater  part  of  these  are  suitable  for  cereals  and 
vegetables,  fruits  of  various  kinds,  some  for  cotton  and  tobacco,  and  a  small 
part  for  rice. 

3.  Among  the  resources  that  could  easily  be  made  available  and  profitable  in 
prosperous  times,  and  with  a  few  facilities  in  marketing,  are  yellow  and  pitch 
pine  in  abundance,  formerly  profitable  for  turpentine  and  lumber,  in  Duplin, 
Onslow,  Wake,  and  other  counties  ;  timber  of  various  kinds  suitable  for  building, 
furniture,  &c.,  in  Bertie,  Anson,  Hertford,  Onslow,  Sampson,  Iredell,  Madison, 
Henderson,  Montgomery,  Moore,  Stokes,  and  Burke  Counties ;  and  agricultural 
resources  in  marketable  products,  with  a  good  system  of  farming,  in  all  except, 
perhaps,  Northampton  and  Cumberland.  Besides  these,  iron  is  manufactured  in 
Chatham,  Lincoln,  and  Gaston  Countie?,  and  found  in  Randolph,  Mecklenburg, 
Alleghany,  Madison,  Moore,  Davie,  and  Guilford  Counties.  Gold,  silver,  and 
copper  are  found  in  Davidson  ;  gold  in  Stanley,  Randolph,  Cabarrus  (the  centre 
of  the  gold  region),  Lincoln,  Anson,  Mecklenburg,  (which  is  rich  also  in  zinc, 
sulphur,  copperas,  and  blue  vitriol,)  Iredell,  Rowan,  Franklin,  Gaston,  Caldwell, 
Moore,  McDowell,  Rutherford,  Guilford,  and  Burke ;  copper  in  Iredell,  Rowan, 
Alleghany,  Jackson  and  Guilford;  bituminous  coal  in  Chatham  and  Moore,  and 
plumbago  in  Wake.  In  most  of  the  counties,  however,  railroad  or  other  facili- 
ties for  marketing  will  be  required  to  make  these  resources  profitable,  and  at 
present,  even  in  the  best  locations,  capital,  skill,  and  enterprise  are  needed. 

4.  Cotton  has  heretofore  been  a  principal,  and  in  many  cases  the  only  sale 
crop  in  Duplin,  Bertie,  Northampton,  Halifax,  Anson,  Cabarrus,  Mecklenburg, 
Franklin,  Wilson,  and  Wake  Counties;  but  the  disturbances  in  labor  and  fall  in 
price  have  rendered  it  precarious,  if  not  utterly  unprofitable.*  Wheat  is  a  principal 
and  generally  profitable  crop  in  Cabarrus,  Mecklenburg,  Randolph,  Camden,  Polk, 
Gaston,  Caldwell,  Moore,  Guilford,  and  Burke  ;  and  corn  in  Uuplin,  Randolph, 

*  This  was  written  in  1S67,  when  cotton  was  low  ;  now  good  prices  are  received,  and  the 
cotton  crop  is  highly  profitable.  It  must  he  observed  that  this  summary  is  made  up  from 
letters  of  planters  written  at  that  time. 


104  EESOUECES   OF   NOETH    CAROLINA. 

Halifax,  Onslow,  Sampson,  Camden,  Polk,  Gaston,  Henderson,  Caldwell,  Moore, 
McDowell,  Wake,  Rutherford,  Guilford,  and  Burke.  Tobacco  is  made  a  specialty  in 
Franklin,  Davie,  and  Person,  and  ground  peas  (or  nuts)  in  Onslow.  In  nearly  all 
the  counties  farming  is  reported  at  a  low  state  in  management  and  profits.  Corn 
is  the  staple  for  bread  in  many  counties.  Halifax  reports  the  yield  on  best 
lands — cotton  four  hundred  to  five  hundred  pounds  lint ;  corn  on  uplands  twenty 
to  thirty,  and  on  lowlands  thirty  to  fifty  bushels  ;  but  on  common  lands  through- 
out the  State  the  average  is  one  hundred  to  three  hundred  pounds  lint ;  twelve 
to  twenty  bushels  of  corn,  five  to  ten  bushels  of  wheat.  Onslow  reports  ground 
nuts  fifty  to  ninety  bushels  per  acre,  at  $2  25  to  $2.50  per  bushel ;  and  sweet 
potatoes  fifty  to  sixty  bushels,  at  $4  to  $10  per  barrel.  Sampson  reports  that 
before  the  war,  at  its  county  fairs,  prizes  were  awarded  for  one  hundred  bushels 
of  corn  and  thirty  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre. 

5.  Drilling  in  grain  crops  is  not  practised  in  the  State,  except  a  few  experi- 
ments in  two  counties ;  and  the  general  amount  of  wheat  is  sowed  at  the  rate 
of  one  bushel  to  the  acre,  and  lightly  ploughed  or  harrowed  in.  The  seed  wheats 
preferred  are  the  earliest  and  hardiest  procurable,  and  are  as  follows  :  Purple 
straw  (called  a  white  wheat,  while  others  speak  of  "rare  ripe"  as  a  synonym, 
and  call  it  a  red  wheat,  thus  causing  doubt  and  confusion)  is  preferred  in  Duplin, 
Davidson,  Randolph,  Chatham,  Halifax,  Franklin,  and  Montgomery ;  Mediter- 
ranean in  Randolph  and  Stokes ;  white  Baltimore  (pronounced  very  good,  but 
rather  uncertain)  in  Stanley,  Rowan,  and  Rutherford ;  blue  stem  in  Wilkes, 
Franklin,  Polk,  Alleghany,  and  Burke  ;  Walker  in  Madison,  Alleghany,  Jackson, 
and  Macon ;  Johnson  white  in  Halifax;  Orleans  white  in  Anson;  early  white 
and  "  Ruffin"  in  Camden;  red  May  in  Mecklenburg;  and  Clingman  in  Hender- 
son. It  is  noteworthy  that  the  early  Tappahannock,  distributed  by  this  de- 
partment, is  superseding  all  or  nearly  all  these  varieties  as  fast  as  it  becomes 
known,  and  is  now  preferred  in  Lincoln,  Anson,  Mecklenburg,  Wilkes,  Polk, 
Caldwell,  Davie,  Person,  Watauga,  and  Burke,  for  its  early  ripening,  freedom 
from  disease,  and  insects,  good  yield,  and  hardiness.  Sowing  is  clone  from  early 
in  September  to  January,  but  generally  in  October  and  November.  Harvesting 
is  generally  in  June,  sometimes  extending  into  July.  In  one  wheat-growing 
county  the  cradle  is  spoken  of  as  lately  superseding  the  reap  hook  (sickle). 

6.  Crab,  wire,  and  sedge-grasses  are  the  most  common  natives.  Herds, 
meadows,  blue,  timothy,  and  water  grasses,  and  the  clovers  are  more  or  less 
common  in  most  counties.  Lespedeza  (wild  clover)  in  Lincoln  County  is  rooting 
out  the  segge  and  crab-grass.  But  few  regular  pastures  or  meadows  are  made. 
Most  stock  is  turned  into  forest  and  mountain  ranges  in  the  spring,  and  remain 
there  until  after  harvest,  when  it  is  put  into  the  fields.  On  some  of  those  ranges 
cattle  grow  fat.  Regular  pasturing  costs  from  one  dollar  to  two  dollars  per 
month  ;  in  ranges,  the  expense  of  occasional  attendance  and  salt  is  from  one 
dollar  to  four  dollars  the  season,  which  lasts  from  six  to  eight  months,  and  win- 
ter foddering  from  three  to  four  and  a  half  months.  Little  or  no  stock  is  raised 
in  Bertie,  Northampton,  Anson,  and  Stokes  Counties. 

7.  The  long  seasons  mature  northern  winter  apples  too  early  for  good  keep- 
ing, but  the  fine  Virginia  and  native  winter  varieties  keep  well.  Only  small 
quantities  of  fruits  are  raised  in  Northampton,  Anson,  Camden,  Gaston,  Moore, 
and  Cumberland  ;  but  if  there  was  a  demand,  nearly  all  would  be  found  well 
adapted  to  fruit  raising.     The  other  counties  are  well  suited  to  this  culture,  and 


KESOURCES   OF   NOETH    CAROLINA.  105 

fruits  of  all  kinds  (except  tropical)  are  easily  cultivated  and  produce  abundantly. 
In  some  counties  the  apple,  in  others  the  pear,  and  in  yet  others  the  peach  are 
never  failing.  In  many  the  native  grapes,  especially  the  Scuppernong,  produce 
abundantly,  and  are  free  from  mildew  and  rot.  In  Wilson  the  Scuppernong 
yields  from  20  to  25  barrels  of  juice  per  acre.  In  Chatham  apples  are  profita- 
ble. In  Polk  one  hundred  apple-trees  yield  one  hundred  gallons  of  brandy.  In 
Alleghany  apple-trees  average  ten  bushels  each,  at  a  profit  of  twenty  cents  per 
bushel.  In  Davie  an  acre  of  apple  orchard  is  worth  from  §100  to  §150  annually. 
In  Onslow  fruit  raising  is  profitable  and  orchards  on  the  increase.  Wilkes  is 
claimed  to  be  the  best  county  in  the  State  for  good  apples  and  cherries.  In 
Guilford  orchards  of  good  apples,  peaches,  and  cherries  are  profitable,  and  in 
several  others  fruit  raising  could  be,  if  facilities  for  marketing  were  afforded  and 
proper  attention  given  to  the  business.  In  Stanley  pear  blight  is  prevented  by 
a  free  application  of  putrid  urine  to  the  roots  at  the  beginning  of  winter,  and 
stone  fruit  trees  protected  from  the  borer  by  applying  the  same  remedy  before 
and  while  the  insect  is  at  work. 


Availability  of  the  Coal  of  Deep  River. 

In  our  previous  statements  less  than  justice  has  been  done 
to  the  value  of  the  coal  of  Deep  Eiver,  and  particularly  to  its 
availability,  both  as  regards  facility  of  mining,  and  as  regards 
the  easy  means  of  getting  it  to  tide-water.  This  coal  has  a 
wide  range  of  uses,  being  the  best  and  most  compact  of  bitu- 
minous coals.  All  such  coals  are  in  demand  all  along  the 
seaboard,  since  none  of  this  class  is  found  in  the  great  anthra- 
cite region  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  bituminous  coals  of 
Western  Pennsylvania  are  practically  almost  as  remote  as  the 
Nova  Scotia  coal.  If  it  can  be  mined  freely  on  the  Deep 
Eiver,  therefore,  and  can  be  carried  at  a  low  cost  to  the  ship- 
ping point  at  Wilmington,  there  is  every  encouragement  to 
develop  it. 

On  this  point  the  following  letter  is  so  pertinent  and  ex- 
plicit, that,  although  written  some  years  since,  we  confidently 
rely  on  its  conclusions,  and  commend  them  to  the  attraction  of 
far-seeing  business  men  and  capitalists : — 

Extracts  from  a  Letter  of  Wm.  McClane,  Engineer,  on  the  Goal 
of  Deep  River  Basin. 

To  Charles  Illius,  Esq.  :  — 

Dear  Sir  :  You  ask  me  for  my  impartial  opinion  as  to  the  capabilities  of 
your  coal-mines  on  Deep  River,  N.  C,  to  supply  the  Atlantic  cities  with  a  supe- 
rior and  cheap  gas  coal,  sufficient  for  all  their  consumption,  and  also  for  the 


106  EESOUECES   OF   FORTH   CAROLINA. 

supply  of  the  steamers  now  dependent  on  the  depots  at  Kingston,  Jamaica,  for 
their  necessary  fuel :  and  you  further  ask  me  for  details  as  to  its  cost  at  tide 
water I  must  commence  by  stating  that  accident,  and  then  curi- 
osity, led  me  to  examine  your  coal-fields  before  I  was  acquainted  with  you.  As 
you  are  aware,  I  have  had  a  long  practical  experience,  on  a  large  scale,  in  the 
coal-fields  of  Pennsylvania  :  a  contract  for  engineering  carried  me  to  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.  Subsequently  I  was  called  to  Raleigh,  N.  C.  There  I  became 
acquainted  with  Professors  Johnson  and  Emmons,  State  Geologists,  and  by  them 
my  curiosity  was  awakened  to  traverse  the  coal-fields  on  Deep  River,  at  that 
time  undefined  and  but  little  known.  I  was  confirmed  in  my  opinion  by 
Messrs.  Johnson  and  Emmons,  of  a  large  deposit  of  the  richest  gas  and  steam 
coal  on  the  river  intersecting  these  coal-fields  ;  which,  by  the  aid  of  mere  flat- 
boats,  could  be  placed  at  tide-water  at  a  nominal  cost,  and  sufficient  for  all  the 
wants  of  the  Atlantic  cities 

As  the  best  coal  is  always  found  in  the  basin  of  the  coal-field,  or  at  the 
greatest  distance  from  the  surface,  and  surmising  from  calculation  that  the, 
depth  of  the  first  coal  seam  of  importance  would  be  found  at  about  350  feet,  I 
commenced  boring,  about  six  months  ago,  on  your  estate,  called  Egypt,  and  at 
361  feet  I  have  penetrated  a  five-foot  vein  of  bituminous  coal  unincumbered 
with  slate,  easily  mined,  and  superior  to  any  in  Great  Britain,  and  I  am  corrobo- 
rated by  Prof.  Emmons  in  this  opinion,  that  at  about  40  feet  below  this  vein 
lies  another,  fully  10  feet  thick.  Thus,  Prof.  Emmons  gives  the  quantity  of  coal 
to  the  acre  to  be  29,400  tons,  and  as  your  properties  lie  in  this  basin,  of  which 
Egypt  alone  contains  3000  acres,  underlaid  with  this  coal,  valued  at  tide-water 
at  five  dollars  per  ton,  the  intrinsic  value  of  your  property  is  easily  estimated. 
Professors  Johnson  and  Jackson,  who  have  several  times  explored  the  whole 
region,  certify  to  the  quantity  and  quality  of  this  coal  for  gas,  steam,  and  house 
purposes. 

.  The  openings  (of  the  mines)  will  not  exceed  one  thousand  feet  from 
your  wharves  on  the  river ;  and  I  estimate  the  cost  of  pinking  a  shaft  at  Egypt, 
with  the  necessary  engines,  capable  of  supplying  any  required  quantity  of  coal, 
not  exceeding  one  ton  per  minute,  at  $35,000  to  $40,000.  The  motive  power 
required  to  carry  this  coal  to  tide-water  at  Wilmington  or  Smithville  is  very 
trifling.  A  proper  steam  tug,  80  feet  long  and  100  horse-power,  will  take  six 
flat  boats,  of  120  tons  each,  four  miles  an  hour.  The  distance  to  Wilmington 
is  160  miles,  and  allowing  one  week  for  each  trip  of  720  tons,  we  shall  get  a 
supply  of  about  35,000  tons  to  tide-water  for  an  outlay  in  motive  power,  of 
about  $18,000,  or  about  fifty  cents  per  ton.  As  there  is  no  railroad  required, 
and  the  moving  is  done  entirely  by  water  navigation,  the  quantity  will  only  be 
limited  by  the  number  of  steam  tugs  and  flatboats  employed.  Compare  this 
with  the  millions  necessarily  expended  before  coal  could  be  brought  to  tide- 
water from  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  and  which  absorbs  almost  all  the  value 
of  the  coal  at  market.  The  further  expense  of  taking  these  720  tons  per  week 
is  the  wages  of  the  men,  and  their  keep  during  this  time,  about  $88  in  all, 
or  1 3  cents  per  ton.  To  this  add  25  cents  per  ton  toll,  and  five  cents  handling 
into  vessel,  making  43  cents  per  ton  at  Wilmington. 

The  cost  of  running  a  ton  of  coal  can  be  contracted  for,  deliverable  into 
boats,  at  60  cents  per  ton  ;  to  which  add  43  cents,  as  above,  for  cost  of  trans- 
portation, and  the  whole  actual  cost  of  a  ton  of  coal  on  board  of  a  ship  at 


RESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  107 

j 
Wilmington,  or  Smithville,  will  amount,  say,  to  §1.03.     Of  course  there  will  be 

plenty  of  back  freight  offering,  sufficient  at  least  to  pay  for  contingencies  ;   but 

putting  this  aside,  and  estimating  the  cost  at  two  dollars  per  ton  on  board  at 

Wilmington,  it  will  still  be  cheap  enough  to  supply  our  want  of  coal  at  a  price 

to  defy  competition  from  any  quarter. 

Your  best  depot  will  be  at  Smithville,  situated  at  the  outlet  of  Cape  Fear 
River,  directly  on  the  ocean,  but  protected  by  Smith's  Island,  forming  a  secure 
harbor.  Vessels  drawing  18  feet  of  water  can  enter  at  all  times,  and  this  port 
lying  directly  in  the  track  of  the  steamers  plying  to  the  South,  can  enable  them 
to  complete  their  supplies  of  coal  at  a  great  saving  of  price,  and  in  a  port  of 
the  United  States,  instead  of  at  Kingston,  Jamaica,  as  at  present. 

Your  coal  depot  will  thus  be,  on  an  average,  only  a  couple  of  days'  sail  from 
Charleston,  Savannah,  Havana  and  Kingston,  Jamaica,  all  of  which  places  are 
now  dependent  for  their  supplies  of  coal  on  Great  Britain,  three  thousand  miles 
distant.  It  will  be  also  of  easy  access  to  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  Newark,  and 
Boston 

Besides  coal  we  have  an  abundance  of  the  best  ingredients  for  making  either 
the  finest  castings,  or  iron  suited  for  car-wheels  ;  for,  having  our  refuse  coal, 
iron  ores  and  flux  altogether,  pig  iron  can  be  made  equally  cheap,  say  SI 2  or 
$14  per  ton.  For  this  there  is  a  ready  market,  as  North  Carolina  has  been 
dependent  on  Pennsylvania  for  all  her  pig  metal,  at  a  cost  of  $40  to  $60  per  ton, 

including  transportation,  and  according  to  quality 

Very  faithfully  and  truly,  yours, 

WILLIAM  McCLANE, 

Chief  Engineer. 

Sentiments  of  the  People. 

There  has,  been  much  misapprehension  at  the  North  as  to 
the  sentiments  of  the  people  of  North  Carolina  toward  citizens 
from  other  States  who  come  to  establish  themselves  in  business 
among  them.  Whatever  may  at  any  time  have  been  the  case 
in  other  parts  of  the  South,  in  North  Carolina  there  has  never 
been  any  great  degree  of  bitterness  resulting  from  the  convul- 
sions of  the  past  few  years.  The  great  majority  originally  Union 
men,  and  adhering  to  the  last  practicable  moment  to  the 
Union  cause,  the  people  of  this  State  have  accepted  the  re- 
sults of  the  war  in  good  faith,  and  have  endeavored  to  adapt 
themselves  to  the  changed  condition  of  labor  as  promptly  as 
was  possible.  It  is  their  wish  to  forget  the  differences  for 
which  they  were  not  originally  responsible,  and  to  enter  on 
a  new  career  of  business  activity,  in  which  not  only  will  the 
losses  of  that  time  be  restored,  but  a  wider  and  more  endur- 
ing basis  will  be  laid  for  their  further  prosperity  in  the  future. 


108  EESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

It  Las  sometimes  been  remarked,  that  the  earlier  undertak- 
ings of  Northern  men  in  mining  and  other  enterprises  in  the 
South  were  not  kindly  received,  and  that  losses  resulted 
which  need  not  have  occurred  had  the  people  been  entirely 
friendly.  No  doubt,  there  is  some  ground  for  this  impression 
as  to  some  portions  of  the  South,  though  we  believe  very 
little  in  North  Carolina.  In  1865,  it  was  too  early  to  expect 
entire  quiet,  and  a  cordial  acceptance  of  results  so  painful  to 
many  in  the  South,  and  it  was  not  wise  to  assume  that  for 
which  no  reasonable  ground  existed.  But  the  conditions  in 
1869  are  greatly  changed.  The  people  of  both  North  and 
South  have  learned  to  discriminate,  and  to  separate  the  irre- 
sponsible persons  among  each  who  are  always  foremost  in 
creating  differences.  Earnest  business  men,  and  responsible 
citizens  of  the  North,  will  be  welcomed  in  North  Carolina 
with  peculiar  cordiality,  and  will  be  aided  in  every  proper 
enterprise  by  the  best  wishes  and  most  active  exertions  of  all 
with  whom  they  come  in  contact. 

For  this  assurance  there  are  ample  evidences  and  abundant 
instances  within  our  personal  knowledge.  The  day  of  mere 
adventurers  has  gone  by,  and  whatever  was  done  immediately 
after  the  war,  there  are  now  none  of  that  objectionable  class 
travelling  or  going  there.  Skilful  mechanics  seeking  em- 
ployment are  not  adventurers,  nor  are  plain  people  who  wish, 
to  apply  their  energies  to  new  fields  even  without  capital. 
The  class  who  wander  about  to  prey  upon  and  deceive  any 
part  of  the  Southern  people,  and  particularly  those  who  went 
there  to  foist  themselves  into  position  by  pretended  special 
friendship  for  the  newly-emancipated  colored  men,  very 
naturally  encountered  suspicion  and  hostility.  Still  worse, 
they,  in  an  equally  natural  manner,  drew  down  on  many  de- 
serving men  from  the  North  the  odium  which  was  due  them- 
selves only.  It  is  true,  that  there  should  have  been  more 
discrimination,  but  it  would  have  been  surprising  if  there 
bad  been  an  absolutely  correct  course  under  circumstances 
so  well  calculated  to  confound  meritorious  people  with  those 
who  have  no  merit. 

But  all  this  is  of  the  past.  There  is  no  longer  in  existence 
the  sore  and  sensitive  public  feeling  which  remained  after  the 


EESOURCES    OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  109 

close  of  the  war.  All  visitors  to  North  Carolina  are  emphatic 
in  their  testimony  to  the  frank  and  generous  spirit  with  which 
thej  are  met  by  all  classes.  There  is  no  difficulty  in  engag- 
ing colored  laborers  in  the  eastern  counties,  and  in  procuring 
any  number  of  workmen  required  in  the  greatest  enterprises. 
In  the  central  and  western  part  of  the  State  labor  is  even 
cheaper,  and  great  numbers,  who  cheaply  subsist  themselves 
by  small  farming,  are  ready  to  take  hold,  at  very  moderate 
wages,  of  any  new  work  started  up  among  them. 

These  white  people  of  the  western  counties  bear  a  most 
enviable  reputation  for  sobriety  and  good  character  generally. 
They  are  particularly  ready  to  engage  in  anything  that  will 
bring  money  into  their  country — very  moderate  wages  in 
money  go  far  with  them  in  practical  results.  There  is  no 
more  effective  place  to  wield  ready  capital  in  cutting  timber, 
in  opening  mines,  in  farming  on  a  large  scale,  or  in  any  con- 
ceivable pursuit.  We  trust  that  not  two  years  more  will  pass 
without  this  dormant  human  power  being  brought  into  requi- 
sition, and  with  it,  the  vast  water  power  of  the  great  interior 
rivers  to  which  we  have  before  referred. 

In  a  spirit  of  wise  liberality,  several  of  the  railroads  have 
arranged  to  reduce  freights  and  cost  of  travel  by  about  one- 
half,  to  all  actual  purchasers  of  property  who  proceed  at 
once  to  occupy  and  improve  what  they  purchase.  AYe  have 
before  us  the  "  Proceedings  of  a  Convention  of  the  Presidents, 
Superintendents,  and  other  Officials  of  Southern  Railways,  for 
the  promotion  of  Immigration  to  the  South,  held  at  Atlanta, 
Georgia,  January  4;  1869."  At  this  convention  all  the  lead- 
ing roads  of  the  Southern  States  were  represented,  and 
although,  no  absolute  rule  of  a  general  character  could  be 
adopted,  the  understanding  was,  that  each  road  would,  for 
itself,  make  directly  favorable  terms  for  immigrants  and 
business  enterprises  in  the  district  traversed  by  its  line. 
Among  the  proceedings  was  a  resolution  reducing  the  freight 
on  bone-dust,  guano,  and  all  manufactured  fertilizers,  to  one 
and  one-fourth  cents  per  ton  per  mile  for  all  distances ;  a 
very  important  item  to  the  agriculturists  of  all  parts  of  the 
South.  The  tone  of  their  recommendations  in  regard  to 
ordinary  freights  and  fares,  was  that,  as  we  have  said,  each 


110  KESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA. 

road  should  endeavor  to  aid  actual  enterprises  by  giving 
them  the  advantage  of  half  freights  and  half  fares  for  all  that 
lay  along  the  line  of,  or  whose  business  naturally  came  upon 
any  road.  As  the  proper  discriminations  and  distinctions  in 
such  cases  can  be  known  only  to  the  managers  of  each  road 
for  all  that  would  relate  to  its  own  business,  the  adjustment 
was,  by  common  consent,  left  to  each  to  make  for  itself.  We 
are  assured  that  there  is  great  readiness  to  show  liberality  in 
this  way,  particularly  on  the  railroads  in  North  Carolina,  and 
we  urge,  both  on  the  roads  to  give,  and  on  business  men  to 
ask  and  improve  the  opportunities  so  afforded. 

A  year  of  liberality  to  an  enterprise  for  the  establishment 
of  a  mill  or  manufactory,  or  for  the  opening  of  a  mine,  might 
turn  the  scale  with  a  doubting  purchaser,  and  might  make  a 
purchaser,  who  would  only  purchase  to  hold  without  im- 
proving, without  the  offer  of  some  such  facilities,  decide  on 
putting  a  considerable  sum  of  active  capital  into  use  at  once. 
The  result  would  be  a  permanent  benefit  to  all  concerned, 
while,  if  left  embarrassed  by  difficulties  of  access,  there  would 
be  little  or  nothing  done,  and  no  public  good  realized.  We 
therefore  say  to  both  parties,  that  their  highest  interest  lies 
in  liberality — in  liberal  offers  of  facilities  by  those  who  have 
the  control  of  railroads,  and  in  liberal  investments  by  those 
who  control  now,  or  who  hereafter  purchase  these  dormant 
properties  in  lumber  tracts,  water  power,  coal  and  other 
mines,  and  even  the  farming  lands. 

As  some  guide  to  the  railroads  themselves,  as  well  as  a 
proof  of  the  general  character  of  the  movement  to  aid  immi- 
grants and  business  men  establishing  themselves  in  the  South, 
we  give  the  following  list  of  Roads,  Presidents,  and  Superin- 
tendents participating  in  the  proceeding,  or  replying  favora- 
bly to  the  circular  of  invitation  : — 

Col.  E.  Ilulbert,  Superintendent  of  Western  and  Atlantic 
Railroad. 

M.  J.  Wicks,  President  Memphis  and  Charleston  Railroad. 

S.  K.  Johnson,  Assistant  Superintendent  Georgia  Railroad. 

E.  R.  Walker,  Master  of  Transportation  Western  and  At- 
lantic Railroad. 


EESOURCES   OF   NORTH    CAROLINA.  Ill 

E.  C.  Jackson,  Superintendent  of  East  Tennessee  and 
Georgia  Eailroad. 

Horace  P.  Clark,  General  Freight  Agent  of  Macon  and 
"Western  Eailroad. 

D.  H.  Cram,  Superintendent  of  Montgomery  and  West 
Point  Eailroad. 

L.  P.  Grant,  Superintendent  of  Atlanta  and  "West  Point 
Eailroad. 

Col.  F.  M.  White,  President  of  Mississippi  and  Tennessee 
Eailroad. 

C.  L.  Fitch,  General  Freight  and  Passenger  Agent  of  Mo- 
bile and  Ohio  Eailroad. 

Hermann  Bokum,  Commissioner  of  Immigration  for  Ten- 
nessee. 

T.  S.  Williams,  General  Superintendent  of  New  Orleans, 
Jackson,  and  Great  Northern  Eailroad. 

William  S.  Holt,  President  of  Southwestern  Eailroad. 

A.  J.  White,  President  of  Macon  and  Western  Eailroad. 

T.  L.  Montgomery,  Secretary  of  Montgomery  and  Eufaula 
Eailroad. 

Thos.  Dodamead,  Superintendent  of  Eichmond  and  Dan- 
ville Eailroad. 

E.  F.  Eawworth,  Superintendent  of  Vicksburg  and  Me- 
ridian Eailroad. 

Charles  Ellis,  President  of  Eichmond  and  Petersburg  Eail- 
road. 

E.  Walker,  Superintendent  of  Pensacola  and  Georgia 
Eailroad. 

W.  S.  Cothran,  President  of  Eome  Eailroad. 

Thomas  B.  Jeter,  President  of  Spartanburg  and  Union 
Eailroad. 

J.  W.  Gloss,  President  of  Nashville  and  Decatur  Eailroad. 

J.  C.  Courtney,  Superintendent  of  Southern  Express  Co. 

Frank  Schaller,  State  Agent  of  Immigration  for  Virginia. 

J.  P.  Fresemins,  Eome,  Ga. 

D.  M.  Hood,  Eome,  Ga. 

J.  A.  Billups,  Madison,  Ga. 

Gen.  W.  T.  Wofford,  Cartersville,  Ga. 

Col.  Sam.  Tate,  President  of  Mississippi  Central  Eailroad. 


112  RESOURCES    OF   NORTH   CAROLINA. 

C.  W.  Anderson,  General  Freight  Agent  of  Nashville  and 
Chattanooga,  and  Nashville  and  Northwestern  Railroad. 

J.  M.  Selkirk,  General  Agent  of  Central  Railroad  (of  Ga.). 

G.  Jordan,  Superintendent  of  Montgomery  and  Mobile 
Railroad. 

Maj.  Campbell  Wallace,  Selma  and  Meridian  Railroad,  Ga. 

The  following  report  of  the  committee  appointed  to  pre- 
pare business  for  the  Convention,  expresses  their  wishes  and 
feelings  so  clearly  that  we  transcribe  it  here : — 

"  The  committee  appointed  to  prepare  business  for  the  Convention,  reported 
as  follows:  — 

"  Mr.  Chairman :  Your  committee,  in  considering  the  subject  referred  to  them, 
beg  leave  to  state,  that  fully  appreciating  its  importance  in  reference  to  the 
interests  of  the  railways  of  the  South,  as  well  as  the  general  interests  of  our 
people,  would  have  preferred  more  time  for  the  consideration  of  the  duty 
assigned  them,  but  have  agreed  to  submit  the  following  recommendations  for 
your  consideration  and  action. 

"  It  is  a  fact  well  known  to  this  Convention,  that  the  rate  of  passenger  fare  on 
Southern  railways  is  much  higher  than  on  those  of  the  Northern  and  Western 
States,  and  that  in  addition  to  this  they  have  a  reduced  rate  for  immigrants,  and 
special  trains  for  their  accommodation. 

"  The  great  importance  of  this  traffic  to  them,  not  only  as  a  source  of  reve- 
nue, but  as  the  most  direct  means  of  increasing  their  general  business,  by 
rapidly  settling  up  the  lands  of  the  far  West,  as  well  as  those  contiguous  to  their 
own  lines,  thereby  securing  a  permanent  business,  is  well  understood  by  them, 
and  no  effort  spared  to  secure  this  end. 

"  Special  agents  of  the  different  nationalities,  thoroughly  competent  and  trust- 
worthy, are  employed,  whose  duty  it  is  to  look  after  the  foreign  immigrant  upon 
his  landing  on  our  shores,  and  direct  his  movements  over  the  particular  line 
which  the  agent  may  represent. 

"  Railways  in  the  far  West  are  projected  and  built  upon  the  single  idea  of  the 
enhancement  of  the  value  of  lands  contiguous  thereto,  by  the  flood  of  immigra- 
tion thus  skilfully  directed  by  them  to  their  doors.  We  should  profit  by  their 
example. 

"  There  is  evidently  a  strong  disposition  on  the  part  of  Northern  capitalists  to 
invest  in  the  rich  mineral  lands  of  the  South,  in  manufactures,  and  other  enter- 
prises. We  should  encourage  this  disposition  by  all  the  legitimate  means  in  our 
power. 

"  No  richer  field  for  the  various  enterprises  indicated,  can  be  named  than  that 
of  the  South.  With  the  immense  fields  of  coal,  iron,  copper,  and  marble  com- 
paratively undeveloped,  her  immense  water  power  yet  unimproved,  with  her 
cotton  fields  in  sight  of  the  grain  and  cattle  region,  and  her  genial  climate,  all 
combined,  makes  the  South  the  most  inviting  field  for  capital,  enterprise,  and  immi- 
gration, now  unimproved. 

"It  should  be  our  duty  to  ourselves,  as  well  as  those  whose  interests  we 
represent,  to  bring  these  facts  to  the  attention  of  the  capitalists,  the  manufac- 


EESOUECES    OF   NORTH   CAROLINA.  113 

turers,  and  the  agriculturalists  of  the  Northern  States,  as  well  as  the  foreign  immi- 
grant, that  at  least  a  portion  of  this  capital,  immigration,  and  ivealth  of  labor, 
may  be  drawn  to  our  section. 

"  To  accomplish  this  we  must  publish  to  the  world  our  extraordinary  and 
really  wonderful  advantages,  and  the  cordial  welcome  that  the  South  offers  to  the 
Northern  citizen  and  foreign  immigrant.  The  mere  publication  of  facts  will  not, 
however,  accomplish  this  end. 

"  The  capitalist  cannot  be  expected  to  venture  upon  an  investment  until  he 
has  first  seen  in  person  that  our  representations  are  true. 

"  The  manufacturer  will  not  invest  his  capital  with  us,  building  up  towns  and 
cities,  until  he  has  verified  our  statements  by  personal  observation ;  nor  will  the 
farmer  purchase  our  lands  until  he  has  first  examined  their  productiveness. 
Neither  will  the  foreign  immigrant  come  among  us  until  we  have  convinced  him 
of  the  many  advantages  we  offer  him,  following  up  that  information  by  tendering 
him  the  aid  and  assistance  so  freely  offered  by  the  enterprise  of  the  North  and 
West." 

The  action  of  this  Convention  resulted  in  the  issue  of  the 
following  important  circular,  and  although,  by  its  terms,  it  is 
limited  to  July  1,  1869,  it  is  understood  that  it  will  be  con- 
tinued at  least  for  some  months,  if  not  a  year  later  : — 

Circular  to  Parties  desiring  to  procure  Certificates  to  the  South. 

Parties  expecting  to  procure  Certificates  will  be  required  to  conform  to  the 
following  instructions  to  Agents : — 

The  object  of  the  Convention  held  in  Atlanta,  Ga.,  Jan.  4,  1869,  as  set  forth 
in  the  resolutions  and  unanimously  adopted,  is  to  induce  travel  south  for  the 
purpose  of  investigating  the  extraordinary  opportunities  now  offered  for  pro- 
fitable investment  in  that  section. 

It  is  not  contemplated  to  sell  the  excursion  ticket  or  certificate  to  parties 
applying  for  the  same,  but  simply  to  issue  them  when  satisfied  that  the  party 
will  in  good  faith  comply  with  the  object  sought  to  be  attained  by  the  Conven- 
tion, viz. :  — 

That  of  examination  for  the  purpose  of  investment. 

The  presentation  of  the  certificate  at  the  ticket  offices  of  either  of  the  roads 
named  as  agreeing  to  the  rates,  will  entitle  the  holder  to  purchase  tickets  at 
two  (2)  cents  per  mile. 

Conductors  will  also  recognize  the  certificate,  and  pass  the  party  holding  the 
same  at  the  stipulated  price  per  mile. 

The  certificates  will  be  issued  under  the  following  rules: — 

1.  When  a  party  is  personally  known  to  you,  and  upon  being  satisfied  that 
his  object  is  in  accordance  with  the  purpose  of  the  Convention,  you  will  issue 
the  certificate. 

2.  When  the  applicant  is  unknown  to  you,  you  will  require  him  to  produce  at 
least  one  respectable  citizen,  who  will  vouch  for  the  party  desiring  to  avail  him- 
self of  the  privilege  of  the  certificate. 

3.  When  the  party  making  application  is  unknown  to  you,  and  himself  unac- 
quainted with  persons  of  respectability  who  can  vouch  for  him,  you  will  then 
permit  him  to  make  affidavit  as  to  his  purpose,  setting  forth  in  the  same  that 
his  intentions  are  in  accordance  with  that  set  forth  in  the  resolutions  of  the 
Convention.  State  the  facts  in  the  blank  space  in  the  certificate,  and  issue  the 
same  to  the  applicant.     File  the  Affidavits. 

4.  After  inserting  the  name  of  the  applicant  in  the  certificate,  state  upon 


114  RESOURCES   OF  NORTH   CAEOLINA. 

"what  ground  the  same  is  issued,  also  the  name  of  the  party  or  parties  who  may 
vouch  for  him.      Stamp  each  certificate  with  your  official  stamp. 

5.  Use  every  precaution  within  your  power  to  prevent  fraud  being  practised 
upon  you,  and  through  you  upon  the  roads. 

Respectfully, 

E.  HULBERT, 
Chairman  Standing  Committee. 

After  the  Agent  is  satisfied  you  intend  to  use  the  certificate  for  the  purpose 
for  which  it  was  issued,  you  will  be  presented  with  one  which  gives  you  the 
names  of  the  Roads  and  Hotels  in  the  South  who  have  agreed  to  the  reduction. 

The  Changed  System  of  Labor. 

Up  to  a  recent  period,  and  to  some  extent  during  the  year 
1867,  there  remained  some  soreness  on  the  part  of  employers, 
and  some  carelessness  of  consequences  on  the  part  of  the 
freedmen,  which  interfered  with  the  regularity  of  their  work 
in  all  the  counties  where  dependence  must  be  had  upon  them, 
But  a  year  later  there  was  a  great  improvement,  and  now,  in 
1869,  the  new  order  of  things  is  as  fully  established  as  could 
at  any  time  be  expected.  There  is  practically  no  difficulty  in 
engaging  permanent  labor  in  any  part  of  the  State.  All  who 
live  by  labor  find  the  necessity  to  seek  employment  quite 
pressing  enough  to  insure  the  acceptance  of  reasonable  wages, 
by  whomsoever  offered. 

In  the  eastern  and  southern  counties  generally,  the  colored 
population  is  nearly  equal  to  the  white,  in  but  very  few  coun- 
ties being  in  excess.  In  some  twenty-five  counties,  including 
Beaufort,  Bertie,  Bladen,  Caswell,  Chowan,  Craven,  Cumber- 
land, Duplin,  Edgecombe,  Franklin,  Gates,  Granville,  Green, 
Halifax,  Hertford,  Jones,  Lenoir,  Nash,  New  Hanover,  North- 
ampton, Pasquotank,  Perquimans,  Person,  Pitt,  Eichmond, 
Sampson,  Warren,  and  Wake,  the  average  is  very  nearly  the 
same  of  colored  and  whites.  There  are  no  counties  in  which  a 
mass  of  colored  people  are  found  to  the  exclusion  of  whites ; 
Halifax,  with  10,824  colored  and  5765  white,  and  Warren, 
with  4923  white  to  10,803  colored,  being  the  extremest  cases. 
And  probably  the  state  of  things  in  1860,  from  the  census  of 
which  we  take  these  figures,  represents  a  larger  number  of 
colored  than  would  now  be  found. 

In  the  central  counties  the  colored  population  in  1860 
numbered  from  one-third  to  one-fourth  of  the  number  of 
white  ;  while  in  the  mountain  counties  the  number  of  colored 
was,  and  is  very  small. 


EESOUECES   OF   NOETH   OAEOLINA. 


115 


Whites. 

Colored 

7,423 

533 

3,351 

239 

4,772 

135 

8,220 

429 

10,610 

2,044 

5,678 

230 

5,474 

327 

8,981 

1,467 

5,241 

274 

5,370 

634 

8,609 

557 

Ashe 

Alleghany 

Watauga 

Yancey 

Buncombe 

Madison 

Haywood 

Henderson 

Jackson 

Macon 

Cherokee 

Several  counties  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge  have  also  very  few 
colored;  particularly  Alexander,  Surry,  "Wilkes,  Catawba, 
Polk,  &c. 

In  the  entire  State  there  were,  in  1860,  631,100  whites  to 
361,512  colored.  We  can  only  estimate  that  there  is  at  least 
a  greater  number  of  whites,  in  proportion,  in  1869. 

It  is  noticeable  that  fewer  conflicts  have  taken  place  in 
North  Carolina  in  the  course  of  the  recent  delicate  and  diffi- 
cult process  of  harmonizing  life-long  differences  with  a  new 
order  of  things,  than  in  any  other  State  of  the  South.  This 
fortunate  result  has  been  due  to  the  sound  judgment,  and  reso- 
lute good,  faith  with  which  the  responsible  white  citizens 
have  met  the  emergency.  They  deserve  the  good  opinion  of 
citizens  of  other  States,  and  they  will  always  be  found  to  un- 
derstand and  appreciate  a  public  duty.  We  can,  therefore, 
confidently  say  to  capitalists  and  business  men  who  go  among 
these  people  to  purchase  and.  improve  any  properties,  that 
they  will  be  met  with  warm  and  cordial  friendship ;  and  will 
find,  every  facility  placed  within  their  reach  that  the  country 
can  supply.  Whatever  class  constitutes  the  laboring  force  of 
the  district,  fair  wages  will  promptly  put  it  in  motion.  Trained 
miners,  iron-workers,  and  manufacturers  of  every  class  abound 
in  the  mining  and  manufacturing  counties.  In  the  planting- 
counties  the  original  laboring  people  remain,  and  are  ready 
to  supply  every  call  for  cotton  or  rice  planting.  In  the  pine 
lands  and  the  cypress  lumbering  districts,  there  are  thousands 
of  laborers  there,  mostly  colored,  who  have  spent  their  lives 
in  these  pursuits,  and  who  are  acclimated  as  well  as  habituated 
and  skilled  in  the  requisite  degree. 


Microfilmed 
SOLINET/ASERL  PROJECT 


116 


RESOURCES    OF   NOETH    CAROLINA. 


Adjacent  States. 

In  what  we  have  here  written  we  have  confined  ourselves 
to  North  Carolina,  but  much  that  has  been  said  would  apply 
to  the  adjacent  parts  of  South  Carolina  particularly,  and  in 
some  degree  to  Virginia  and  Tennessee.  It  is  clearly  easier 
to  enter  or  leave  the  central  and  upper  portions  of  South 
Carolina  by  way  of  Wilmington  than  in  any  other  way,  or  by 
any  other  route.  The  short  Wilmington  and  Manchester 
Eailroad  goes  to  the  heart  of  the  State,  and  at  least  a  large 
area  along  the  northeastern  border  of  South  Carolina  finds  a 
more  natural  and  easy  market  at  Wilmington  than  anywhere 
else.  In  the  table  previously  given,  showing  the  trade  of 
Wilmington,  the  quantities  are  so  large  as  to  imply  a  consider- 
able receipt  over  this  Wilmington  &  Manchester  Eoad  from 
adjacent  parts  of  South  Carolina.     Some  of  the  items  were: — 


Cotton,  in  \i 

Cotton  Yarns  and  Cloths  " 

R.ough  Rice  " 

Rosin,  • 

Spirits  of  turpentine  " 

Crude                 "  ' 

Lumber  ' 

Timber  ' 

Shingle  " 

Staves  " 

Tar  and  Pitch  " 


31,828  bales. 
759  bales. 
18,447  bushels. 
463,113  barrels. 
94,918  barrels. 
22,343  barrels. 
19,194,662  square  feet. 
47,399  cubic  feet. 
3,983  M. 
1,145  M. 
47,410  barrels. 


Interested  as  we  are  in  the  general  development  of  the  re- 
sources of  this  part  of  the  South,  we  chose  North  Carolina, 
and  its  commercial  representative,  Wilmington,  as  centres  and 
points  of  readiest  access.  Through  them  we  believe  that 
many  other  districts  can  be  easily  reached,  and  particularly 
to  see  South  Carolina  favorably  is  best  accomplished  by  way 
of  Wilmington  or  Charlotte,  North  Carolina. 

In  Virginia  the  whole  border  from  Norfolk  westward  to  the 
Mountains  is  a  continuation  of  the  lands  we  have  described 
in  North  Carolina,  namely,  the  swamp  and  drained  lands  of 
the  coast,  a  sandy  tract  next,  but  inferior  to  the  magnificent 
North  Carolina  pine  forest;  fine  tobacco  lands  along  the 
Eoanoke  to  Danville,  at  which  point  a  natural  centre  for 
tobacco  production  exists,  with  a  standard  market. 


